Ghost stories-and other tales
by dragoscilvio
Summary: Welcome my friends to my drabble series...Here you will find angst, family fun, dark secrets, and problems that send our poor heroes onto the edges of sanity! Of course this is all just a by product of my twisted mind...ENJOY!
1. Ghost stories

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters that I choose to use in this fanfiction…

**Hi everyone! I am brand new to RoTG fanfiction, and have yet to see the movie due to living overseas for a time before heading home to America in spring. I am certainly not the best writer, but I hope you enjoy this fluffy one shot of Bunny and Jack brotherly goodness!** **This is going to start as just a one shot, but I might make it a series of drabbles concerning Jack and him getting used to having a family. PLEASE feel free to read and REVIEW!**

**This is a story where I was wondering what if Jack enjoyed listening to campfire ghost stories, and what if Bunny decides to tag along to see what was so much fun about them. **

Jack sat up from where he had been laying on the couch and stretched, almost having to fight the urge to purr like a cat. In the past year since they had defeated Pitch, the winter sprite had been getting used to living amongst his new family, an undertaking that Jack finding not too difficult to do. Within the first six months, Jack had allowed himself to become accustomed to not only having people constantly around him, though he was still an introvert due to the three hundred years of solitude, but he was also finding that he greatly enjoyed naps on the couch at the North Pole during his "off seasons".

It had not taken long for the boy to worm his way into the hearts and minds of the guardians, and soon no one could even remember the time before Jack Frost was part of their odd little family. In fact, even Bunny had become used to seeing the small winter spirit lounging on the couch, with his legs hanging over the arm rest, and one arm thrown over his eyes as he snored in a blissful sleep. It was a sight that never failed to make the Pooka smile fondly as he reached down to softly ruffle the kid's hair with one paw.

But tonight, Jack did not have the time to snooze in the comfort of his favorite napping spot. No, he had a very important appointment to keep. Tilting his head backwards, the winter sprite's back arched as he strained to gaze out the closest window. Seeing the sun setting, Jack jumped up with a small yelp, and prepared to fly at top speeds back to Burgess. But his plan was halted by a furry paw wrapping around his ankle, and yanking him back down to the ground.

"Oi snowflake," a thick Australian accent chuckled softly "where you off to in such a hurry?"

Jack turned around, and his crystal blue eyes stared up into emerald green. Scratching the back of his head nervously with the crook of his staff, the winter sprite let out a weak chuckle.

"N-no where…" he spluttered "Just remembered a city I forgot to give a snow day to, that's all."

"Uh-huh" Bunny said, one eyebrow raised in disbelief as he crossed his arms and shook his head "Sorry frostbite, but ye'll 'ave ta do better than that. What's the real reason you're running out of here in such a hurry?"

"It's snow!" Jack said hurriedly, both hands rose in front of him as he tried to convince the large rabbit "Honest!"

"Ri-ight" Aster drawled "If I didn't know better, I would say that our little snowflake's got a secret."

Jack began to back away from the Pooka, his face wreathed in a panicked grin as he laughed nervously "S-s-secret? Me? No! I just… feel like running to Burgess for a bit. You know, kick up a little snow, play with Jaime, make a few snow forts, that sort of thing."

Bunny allowed a wicked grin to grace his features as he advanced on the boy "It's getting late Jackie" he said lowly as a playful gleam lit his eyes "and I doubt that Jaime will be allowed to play outside, besides, it's your off season. Burgess doesn't get snow this time of year, and you hate anything even slightly resembling hot weather. Which makes me wonder what is so important that you would risk melting just to go. So you've got two choices. You can either tell me your secret, or I'll go tell Tooth and North that you've got yourself a girlfriend."

Jack felt his jaw drop in shock. "You wouldn't dare!"

"Oh but I would mate" The Pooka laughed evilly "So what's it gonna be? You going to tell me what's got you all in a rush? Or shall ruin any chance of your keeping it between us by going to go get North and the fairy?"

Ok, Bunny was cranky, and sometimes even downright mean. But the winter spirit had never seen the rabbit this childish. Almost like now that Easter was over, he was allowed to loosen up and have fun. It was a side of him that Jack had never seen, and it was because of this that he actually considered telling him his secret. It was either that, or have four guardians breathing down his neck for the rest of eternity. So Jack made the only sensible choice. He told Bunnymund.

"Ok" Jack said leaning in close "But you can't tell anyone."

"I'll be silent as the grave."

Darting a look around, Jack gestured for the Pooka to sit down on the floor next to him, and soon the sprite began to divulge his secret.

"Ok" He began as he laid his staff comfortable across his lap "Just this spring someone new moved into Burgess, a girl…"

"Oh Manny" Bunny groaned as he face palmed "Don't tell me you're crushin' on this Sheila?"

"What?!" Jack sputtered "NO!"

The Pooka gave a heavy sigh of relief before gesturing the young guardian to continue. Jack treated his friend with a stern glare and then took a breath to finish his secret.

"Anyway… as I was saying. This girl, her name is Rhianne, is in her early twenties, so she isn't a kid, but she is pretty cool! She takes all the kids in Burgess out into the woods for a big campout every Friday."

Understanding began to light in the rabbit's green eyes as he put the puzzle together. "Today's Friday." He said softly as if he had just solved an impossible mystery.

"Yep!" Jack said excitedly "I have been going every Friday since she first started, and I don't want to miss the campout. Plus, Rhianne tells the _best_ ghost stories!"

Bunny's ears twitched at the mention of a campfire ghost story. To be completely honest, he loved them, was addicted to them even. There was just something thrilling about sitting in the inky darkness of night with only the campfire to provide light, listening to a tale that may or may not be true about some haunted house, or poor doomed soul wandering the earth searching for victims. The Pooka fondly remembered the nights he spent in the Australian outback listening to his fair share of ghost stories told by a local shaman, or tour guide. And so hearing that Jack was on his way to a campout where such chilling tales would be told appealed to the rabbit.

"Alright" Aster said with a firm nod as he stood up and brushed off his legs "then let's get going so you won't be late."

"Wait…" Jack laughed "What?"

"Aw come one mate" The bunny smirked "You can't honestly expect me to turn down the chance to hear a master story teller spin a campfire ghost story, do ya?"

Jack felt a bright smile stretch across his face at the prospect of the Easter bunny joining him on his Friday night outing. "Sweet!" he exclaimed as he rose up in the air excitedly "But I gotta warn you, Rhianne's stories are pretty freaky!"

"Whatever Frostbite" Aster waved one paw dismissively "I'm a Pooka, with nerves of steel and a musculature that would even make a professional body builder jealous. I doubt a little campfire story will send me running to my mum."

…

"Slowly…so slowly…Ashley crawled across the floor to look out her window…"

Bunny and Jack sat behind a group of children, Jaime clinging to Jack for dear life as they listened intently to the story. The young woman, Rhianne, was lit up by the fire, her shadow flung behind her like some ghostly specter waiting to rise up from the ground and gobble up her avid listeners.

"As she pulled herself up from the floor to the windowsill," Rhianne hissed, leaning forward as her voice became gravelly with the tone of the story "All she could see was the ghost slave ship waiting in the harbor behind her house. Ashley screamed, and dove back into her closet, praying that someone, anyone, would rescue her from her inevitable death at the hands of the dead slave who had perished in that ship ship so many years ago."

Jaime gasped, and Jack scooted just a little closer to Bunny as the story continued. Aster placed one arm around both boys, telling himself that he was protecting them, when in fact his own paws were shaking from the tale being told.

"And then, she heard it…" Rhianne tilted her face so the firelight cast a garish mask across her features "A sound from the first floor of the house, coming up the stairs. _Thump, thump, draaag…thump, thump, draaag…"_

Bunny, Jack, and Jaime scooted even closer together, now joined by the other children who were blessed with being able to see the guardians of fun and Hope. All crowded together, their eyes wide as they were fed a horror story beyond all horror stories.

Rhianne smiled wickedly, knowing that the children were ready for the big finale "She could hear the spirit of the dead slave coming to take revenge on the last surviving heir of the family who had owned him as a slave on the plantation, and were the cause for why his left leg was now mutilated beyond repair. His uneven footsteps echoing down the hall, Ashley could only cover her ears in terror as she listened to him drag his decomposing body towards her room. _Thump, thump, draaag….thump, thump, draaag."_

"Finally Ashley could take it no more, and burst from her closet determined to escape from her house and never look back. But as soon as she prepared to run, there he was, the last slave of the plantation from over 200 years ago. In his hand was held a large farming scythe, and dragging behind him was the useless left leg, that had been twisted and mutilated beyond repair as punishment for running away. And as Ashley began to scream, the ghost began his deathly walk towards his final victim before he could finally rest in peace…and the last thing Ashley heard before she was killed was the footsteps of the ghost as he dragged his bloody leg across the floor…_Thump…thump… DRAG!"_

With that Rhianne jerked forward, baring her teeth into the firelight with her hand upraised in a claw like gesture. All the children screamed and hugged each other in fright while their leader melted in peals of laughter at their expressions.

"Oh! Oh my!" Rhianne guffawed "I really don't know why you bunch insist on ghost stories every Friday. If anything, I worry about the effects these stories will have on your poor brains!"

Eventually all the children dispersed, each heading to their tents in nervous groups. Jaime stuck around to tell his friends good-bye before heading to bed. Reaching up, the small boy hugged Jack tightly, and after he said goodnight, dashed off to the relative safety of his tent.

Bunny tapped the ground with one foot, making a tunnel for them to use in order to get back to the Pole in a short amount of time. Diving in, both sent measured glances towards the other, wondering just how affected they were by the story. Upon reaching the Pole, Bunny sat down on the couch in the living room, his green eyes paranoid as they watched the darkness.

Jack sat down next to him, and gave a small laugh. "What's wrong cotton tail? The ghost story make you jumpy?"

"Naw, mate" Bunny huffed "Like I said, I've got nerves of steel. No story is gonna make me turn tail and act like a scared child."

"Ok…" Jack shrugged, and then found himself nervously eyeing the route back to his room up in the tower. It was a long walk, and a dark one too, especially this late at night, with only the occasional torch to light they way. The winter spirit gave a heavy swallow as the story came back to the forefront of his mind, and he repressed a shudder at the thought of having to walk all that way by himself.

"Uh…"

Bunny turned to the winter spirit, one eyebrow raised in question at what the young man wanted. Jack gave a small, breathless laugh as he tried to think of a good way to ask without sounding like a complete wimp.

"You know that North gave me my own room, right?" Jack asked slowly.

"Yeah, I know" Bunny replied as he slowly crossed his arms.

"Yeah he did," Jack nodded "…. Did you ever get the chance to see it?"

Bunny found his mouth twitching as he tried his best to resist the urge to laugh "what's wrong snowflake, scared to walk up to your room by yourself."

"No!" was the emphatic reply, but judging by the pout and angry glare, Bunny knew he had hit the nail on the head. "I just thought that since I officially live here, you would like to see my room. North let me decorate it, and I only just really finished the last touches."

Bunny shook his head fondly, and then stood up. "Sure, why not. Let's go see your room."

Jack let out a silent sigh of relief before following the Aussie up the stairs towards his room. They walked through the winding hallways, and trudged up countless stairs before finally making it to the winter spirit's room. Bunny couldn't help but be impressed. He had seen the room when North finished fixing it up for Jack, but now that Jack had finished adding his own touches to the decorations, the Pooka had to admit that it was a pretty cool looking room. Jack however was bolting towards his bed, and throwing open the windows.

"Come on ya ankle biter," Bunny chuckled softly "Time for you to get a bit of shut eye."

The large rabbit strode over to Jack's bedside, and prepared to tuck the boy in when both heard a horrible sound.

_Thump, thump, drag….Thump, thump, drag…_

"Uh…Bunny?" Jack laughed nervously "You don't hear that…do you?"

_Thump, thump, drag…Thump, thump, drag…_

"Well" Bunny gulped "That depends on what you're referring to."

_Thump, thump, drag…Thump, thump, drag…_

"I'm referring to the sound of something dragging its mutilated leg across the floor that's getting closer." Jack whispered in a hushed terrified voice "We…are gonna DIE!"

The sounds came closer and closer, and Bunny found Jack practically climbing into his lap as they both quivered in fear, until finally the horrible footsteps were right outside the door. Both guardians held their breath as the door knob turned, but right as the door began to open, a horrible roaring cry filled the air. Bunny and Jack shrieked in fear, both of them promptly passing out.

North opened the door, cursing in Russian as he glared at the Yeti who had pushed the giant wooden wardrobe on top of his toes. Stepping out of the way, the large man instructed the Yeti to push the wardrobe to one side of the room. The animal stepped back behind the wooden creation, and proceeded to take two steps, then push the wardrobe across the floor.

_Thump, thump, drag…thump, thump, drag_

Shaking his head, North limped over to the door, favoring his poor mutilated toes before doing a double take at the bed. There lay both Jack and Bunny all curled up in each other's arms, sound asleep. The pain in his foot forgotten, the large man walked as quietly as possible over to the sleeping pair and covered them with a blanket. Then walking back to the door, he smiled fondly at his family.

"And they say they don't like each other." North chuckled.

…..

The next day at breakfast Bunny sat at the table across from Jack, one paw poking his sunny side up egg with a fork. Jack was equally quiet as he nibbled on his toast.

"What is wrong with you today?" North exclaimed in an exasperated tone "Last night you are all buddy buddy, and today neither of you talk."

"What do you mean buddy buddy?" Jack huffed, the Easter bunny silently nodding in agreement.

"Well" North shrugged "I just thought that you two have become friends, what with your slumber party in room last night."

"Slumber party?" Bunny asked incredulously.

"In my room?" Jack echoed "when were you there?"

"Last night I finish wardrobe for your room" North explained "So I have Yeti drag it up to tower for you to use, and when I get there, there is you and Bunny sound asleep. Was very cute, no?"

"A Yeti…" Bunny hissed as if in pain "It was a blooming Yeti?"

Jack however found it hilarious. His face contorted in barely repressed glee, the boy pointed at the large rabbit and guffawed "You screamed like a girl over a Yeti, so much for nerves of steel!"

"Oi! I wasn't alone mate!" Bunny growled "If memory serves correctly, you were the one acting like a scared kit by jumping into my arms and screaming about how we were gonna die!"

"I wasn't screaming!"

"Try telling that to my poor bleeding eardrums!"

"I was…!" Jack searched for a plausible excuse and finally could only growl "I was trying to scare it away!"

"By how?" Aster retorted "Making it think that you were a tea pot whistle?"

"I don't sound like a teapot whistle!"

And that my friends was the last time for a long time that Bunny and Jack went to listen to campfire ghost stories together.

**Thanks for reading, and everyone let me know if you like my writing well enough for me to turn this into a drabble fic. I need votes, so please let me know if you want me to continue! Thanks!**


	2. Of ninjas and Pookas

**Ok, so it seems to be a unanimous vote that I should make this story a drabble series, which I am happy to do. Let me warn you, most of it will probably be either family fluff, or hurt/comfort angst. This story is just another by product of my twisted brain…Hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: No I do not own Rise of the Guardians, and I never will…unless I grow up to be a billionaire and buy the rights…but that is unlikely to happen**

"What on God's green earth is that?"

Jack turned from where he was sitting to grin up at the Easter bunny. "North installed a TV because he wants me to do 'research' as he calls it. He knows what makes kids happy, but he wants to cover all the bases, so I'm supposed to watch what kids watch in hopes of connecting with them, and tell him what they might like under the tree this year."

Bunny raised an eyebrow and shook his head "I know what a TV is ya gumby, I meant what is it that you are watching? And why do you have that thing on your head?"

Jack fingered the ninja head band currently adorning his forehead. Jaime had given it to him exclaiming that if he was going to watch this show, then he needed to wear it as a sign of respect. Jack still didn't quite get it, but he loved it all the same. Giving a careless shrug, the winter spirit turned back to his show.

"This" he said dramatically "Is Naruto…and what I have on my head is a Ninja headband engraved with the symbol of the Village hidden in the leaves, also known as Konoha."

Looking back to the TV screen, Aster could see a rambunctious blonde bouncing around like a jumping bean screaming about being the strongest ninja. Giving a gruff snort, the bunny placed on paw on the headrest of the couch, and gave another incredulous glance at the young sprite.

"And children watch this?"

"Apparently it is pretty popular." Jack hummed.

Bunny looked at the screen and found himself drawn to the show for reasons he couldn't quite understand. Maybe because it had to do with the fact that he had mastered Jiujutsu, which was part of the martial arts of Ninjas, and therefore wanted to see if he could recognize any moves; and maybe it was because his inner child was awakened by not only Saturday morning cartoons, but a Saturday morning cartoon about Ninjas. Finally with a sigh of resignation, the Pooka settled himself on the couch next to the winter sprite.

"You're…" Jack began, his eyes wide with wonder "You're going to watch a cartoon with me?"

Bunny shrugged as he feigned apathy "Don't get all mushy on me mate, I don't have anything better to do, and as long as I don't have to wear that ridiculous head piece, I can spare an hour or two to watch a cartoon."

A pout promptly replaced the previous look of joy as he clapped both hands over his head "It's not ridiculous!" he shot back "It's a functional piece of armor worn by Ninjas to help them protect their head!"

Bunny blinked slowly at his obstinate friend before breaking into a round of laughter at his seriousness over what was clearly a child's toy. Shaking his head, the large rabbit could only chuckle "Whatever you say kid."

"Hmph!" Crossing his arms, the boy went back to watching his show, his large crystal blue eyes taking in every second.

Bunny watched him for a few more seconds, and then turned his attention back towards the screen. From what he could see, he could see more than a few similarities between the snowflake and the blonde kid on the screen. Both of them were stubborn, pranksters, and determined to do whatever they could to get others to acknowledge their existence. No wonder Jack was so stuck on this show, he probably could empathize with the loneliness that this Naruto kid suffered during the isolation of being shunned by his own village. However all metaphorical, and deep thought processes went out the window the first time the Pooka saw Naruto use his Jutsu to turn himself into….a woman.

As a naked woman barely covered up by smoke appeared on the screen, Bunny choked, then began to violently cough as his brain struggled to comprehend what his eyes had just seen.

"Children watch this?!" He spluttered.

Jack merely shrugged in reply.

Bunny shook his head fiercely "I can't believe that children are allowed to watch this kind of trash. Certainly shows how much times have changed."

Jack pursed his lips, then nodded "I agree that the whole naked woman thing is a little creepy, but Jaime says that it gets really good as you go farther into the series."

"And just how long is this show?" Bunny sighed.

"Well this is the first arc which is around two hundred or so episodes, and then there is the second arc which is Naruto Shippuden which is around three hundred episodes, so it's a little over five hundred in total."

Once again Bunny found himself gaping at the boy in shock.

"Crikey…" He murmured "That's longer than some soap operas I know."

Finally Jack turned to the Pooka, his eyes set in a stern glare "Look" he said in a voice dripping strained tolerance "Are you going to talk, or watch the show?"

"Fine, fine" Aster replied, his paws up in mock surrender "I won't say another word."

Thus began an all day marathon of Naruto episodes. With each one that passed, Bunny promised himself that he would leave as soon as the episode ended, but found himself more often than not being galvanized by a cliff hanger, which then prompted him to have to stay for the next episode so he could find out what happened. His favorite scene being the Thousand Years of Pain, during which Bunny could only send a malicious grin in the direction of the frost spirit. Jack glared at him through amused eyes, and pointed a dangerous, albeit mirthful, finger at the rabbit.

"Don't you even think about it," he hissed "ever!"

Bunny's whiskers twitched in amusement as he watched the cartoon representation of the winter sprite go flying through the air after his teacher shoved two fingers up his rear end, which of course gave way to a rather hilarious mental image of his own. Covering up his laughter with a cough, the bunny grumbled;

"Well I wasn't until you said something."

"Hey! What'cha guys watchin'?"

The guardians of Hope and Fun jumped out of their skin at the sudden voice, only to whirl around to find Toothiana and Sandy standing behind them. Sending panicked looks at each other, they could only shrug and admit their current preoccupation.

"We're watching Naruto." Jack said blithely.

"Naruto huh?" Tooth exclaimed as she sat down "I've heard of that show, especially since so many kids in Asia have Naruto toothbrushes."

Jack and Bunny found themselves standing slack jawed shock that Toothiana had heard of this craze known as Naruto, but before too long, all four were littered around the TV room watching nonstop episodes until finally they had actually managed to watch all the way to the end of the first arc.

Turning off the TV, Bunny sat himself back down on the couch and rubbed his temples that were currently aching with a headache from watching too much television. Jack and Tooth however were making plans to start the second arc in the morning.

"I like Sakura best" Tooth giggled "Her hair is really pretty, and once she gets a little older, she will probably turn out to be a pretty awesome Ninja."

Jack nodded "Yeah, but I like Naruto best. He is so cool when everyone thinks that he is down for the count, but he just keeps getting back up until he wins!"

Tooth laughed, unsurprised at the choice. Sandy floated over and created an image of the sand master Gaara, and how unfortunate it was that he never got a chance to sleep. Jack smirked at the guardian of dreams.

"How did I know that your favorite character would be Gaara?" He asked in an amused tone "If for nothing else then for the fact that you both use sand."

Sandy nodded, and then made an image of a sleeping Gaara, and him sprinkling dream dust on top. An image all three smiled at. Turning to the quiet Pooka, Toothiana sent a bright smile to the Easter rabbit.

"Who was your favorite character Aster?"

Bunny pursed his lips as he thought about it, and then gave a firm nod "That genius kid who has control over his shadow. He was pretty neat."

"Yeah!" Jack grinned "I love the fight during the Ninja exam where he won and said he knew every possible outcome before the fight even began!"

Suddenly loud footsteps thumped up to the TV room, and the door opened to reveal North. The large Russian came in with a bright smile on his face "So!" He boomed "How is TV? Did you learn much about what children like?"

"Uh…" came the collective response.

North raised an eyebrow, taking in the Ninja headband still adorning the Winter spirit "Jack…" North began in a stern tone "You did not spend _all_ day only watching Naruto, did you?"

"Well…" Jack chuckled with a guilty grin.

"You know what I say." North grumbled "I said watch many different shows, not just one. I am making toys for millions of children, not just little boys who watch cartoons of ninjas!"

"Girls like it too!" Tooth pouted.

"It was Bunny's fault!" Jack exclaimed.

"Whoa…wait, what?!" Bunny bellowed.

"It was totally your fault!" Jack insisted "Every time an episode ended, you were all 'Well we might as well start the next one', and I never had the chance to change the show."

"You could have changed it at any time!" The Pooka yelled "I couldn't care less about this show."

North pinched the bridge of his nose, knowing that to come into the middle of one of their fights would cause more headache than solution.

"Alright, ALRIGHT" North cried, his eyes twinkling with barely concealed mirth "Tomorrow Jack, you will watch different shows. It is July, and you have next four weeks off from bringing snow anywhere, and I expect you to be doing job, and taking notes about modern children in today's world."

"Aw" Tooth moaned.

"What is wrong?" North asked.

"Nothing, we were just planning on starting the second arc of the show tomorrow" Bunny put in casually, but he twitched when he noticed four faces staring at him with knowing grins. Quickly he grabbed a boomerang and began to polish it as he tried to feign apathy "Not that I care or anything." He amended.

North felt one eyebrow raise, and then sat down. "I guess…" He began slowly, I will just have to watch with you, and see what fuss is about."

"You can't start at Shippuden!" Tooth practically shrieked.

"YEAH!" Jack cried next to her.

"Sorry mate but that's impossible." Bunny shook his head mournfully.

Even Sandy was sending a big X across the room.

"What is problem?" North asked, confusion evident in his features "I thought you would be happy to continue watching show?"

"Well yeah," Jack began "But…you know…"

"No I don't know." Santa said as he crossed his arms over his large belly "Please explain."

"Uh…" The winter sprite looked at Bunnymund for help, and the Pooka sighed.

"Look mate," Bunny said lowly "If you wanna watch Shippuden, then you need to watch the first arc first, chronological order and all that. Otherwise you'll be more lost than a kangaroo in a snowstorm."

North cast a look across the room that immediately broke the heart of everyone in it. It was a look that clearly said 'Why won't you let me in your group?', and that sent everyone scurrying.

"Well, what's watching them all one more time gonna hurt?" Toothiana giggled.

"Yeah, might as well, so that way we can all start Shippuden together." Jack agreed, a smile slowly stretching his face.

"Ah why not!" Bunny laughed.

Sandy flew around making images of popcorn, sleeping bags, and hot chocolate, and within an hour all were camping out in the TV room, prepared to watch the first arc all over again. But this time, they had North with them. The night was passed during a lot of laughter and comments over certain aspects of the show, but by morning, all were ready to begin the second arc.

**Please review! Yes, this story wasn't the funniest, but since Anime is taking the world by storm, or at least North America, I wanted to write a special fic dedicated to all the Anime nerds like me who love being overly dramatic about the animated goodness from Japan!**


	3. Broken Part 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters that I choose to use in this fiction.**

**OK! This is a hurt/comfort chapter, and for those of you wondering who North's favorite character was in Naruto, that will be revealed next chapter. Please don't forget to REVIEW!**

It was just another winter day with Jack Frost flitting from city to city bringing liquid happiness in crystallized form. He was soaring over the Northeastern section of North America fully intent on dumping enough snow on New York to last them till Christmas. Ever since Toothiana made him watch the movie Miracle on 34th street, Jack was determined that all New Yorkers should enjoy snow, and lots of it. So he was on his way to bring a snow storm that would close out the schools for at least one day to the big apple.

But things rarely go as planned…

Without warning, a nightmare dove from the sky, driving its front hooves in a fierce kick right on Jack's lower back. The winter sprite let out a sharp cry of pain at the unexpected attack, and was just barely saved by the wind from going head first into a sky scraper. Twirling around, Jack glared at his enemy, his eyes wary and watchful for any other monsters wanting to join their little party.

"Alright Nightmare…" Jack smirked as he arranged his hands in a better grip on his staff "There's nothing you can do that will scare me…"

Suddenly the Nightmare let out a shrill neigh before the dark sand roiled on top of its head, going up and up until it formed a sharp horn. Jack stared in slack jawed surprise at the now black unicorn made out of nightmare sand standing in front of him.

"Well…" Jack murmured to himself as an afterthought "That's new."

With a shrug, and a mental kick in the pants, Jack dove forward with a loud battle cry. Horn met staff, and soon the two were dueling in the sky. The winter sprite ducked and weaved, his face hard, and brow furrowed with the concentration it took not to get impaled.

"You know," he panted "I never thought that I would have a sword fight with a horse. This is definitely going in the metaphorical scrapbook of the strange and obscene things I have been forced to endure."

The horse stomped one foot before standing up on its hind legs and brandishing its horn. Jack gave the thing a cheeky, albeit exhausted grin "What, don't feel like talking? Too bad you aren't as chatty as your master…at least you have eyebrows. Score one for you."

"Now Jack, that wasn't very kind."

The winter spirit tensed as he heard the sickeningly smooth voice float out from thin air. Twirling his staff in his hands, Jack squared his shoulders and yelled out his challenge.

"Where are you Pitch? Or are you too scared to face me because you know you'll get beaten up again by someone half your size?"

"Your taunt, though amusing, is not very original." Sighed the disembodied voice "You know very well that due to your…interference…I am unable to gain full corporeal form as of yet, but don't worry I sent along some new playmates for you. What do you think of my latest creation?"

Jack gave the unicorn an appraising glance, one finger tapping his chin as he took on the appearance of someone giving their opinion on a piece of art in a gallery.

"I hate to throw your words back in your face Pitch" the sprite replied in a snarky tone "But your latest nightmare, though amusing, is not very original."

"Little brat" came the growled reply "Let's see how much humor you have left in you when it is a whole army of my little pets."

"Oh great," Jack groaned as thirty more black unicorns joined the first and surrounded him on every side "Good job Jack, way to put your foot in your mouth."

"Good bye Jack" Pitch whispered menacingly "I doubt we will see each other again."

"Well you know me," the boy said as he rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck "I'm not really one who fulfills expectations."

Like an ebony tsunami, the black unicorns charged the boy, and Jack fought for all he was worth. Slashing through the nightmares, even as their horns slashed through him. He began to lose count of how many times he felt the blinding, white hot pain of yet another gash across his side, or through his leg. Finally, he curled up in a ball, gathering his energy within him and compacting it into a large scale wave. Springing back out with his legs and arms, Jack screamed out in pain as he thrust out his last vestiges of strength towards his enemies, blasting them all into clouds of dust.

Jack panted hard, his breath coming in wheezing gasps as his eyesight grew blurry. He barely acknowledged that his staff had slipped from his now numb fingertips, and was tumbling through the air towards the ground below, and soon the white haired child was following after it as his eyes rolled back in an exhausted swoon.

The wind tried it's best to catch him, but without his staff, it was able to do little more than slow his descent. With a sickening crack, the boy fell into a dark alley, and was conscious just long enough to note that for some reason, he couldn't feel his toes.

…

Sandy flew through the sky, sprinkling his dream sand to the thousands of children living in New York. He enjoyed big cities. It was the one time he could truly let loose, and allow his dream sand to cover the building in veritable mounds, looking much like a golden version of Jacks snow. He loved his work, but tonight, something seemed off. Something niggled in the back of his brain that was setting off alarm bells of unease throughout the usually very cheerful man. Finally, he gave a sigh of resignation, and decided it was best to follow his gut feeling wherever it may lead.

To say that Sandy was grieved at the horrendous sight meeting his eyes would have been a vast understatement, but the Sandman was rarely one who allowed emotion to cloud sound judgment, especially when action was required. When he found Jack's broken and bloody body in the alley, he knew there was only one thing he could do. Take Jack to North's workshop, and send out the dreams from there. And so, gathering the fragile body up onto the softest cloud ever crafted from dream sand, Sandy began the long trek to Santoff Claussen in hopes of saving the life of one very special child.

…

The first thing Jack became aware of was pain, hot burning pain lancing throughout his body originating from his back. His eyes fluttering open, the boy was hit by a wave of nausea and sheer agony. Gritting his teeth, he tried to hold back the sobs creeping up his throat, but as wave after wave assaulted his senses, Jack felt his resolve to stay strong weakening. Clamping his lips, and clenching his eyes shut, Jack forced himself to take several deep breaths through his nose in an effort to fight off the urge to curl up in a ball and cry. But his concentration was disturbed by a furry paw running through his hair.

"Oi, snowflake" an Aussie accent said softly "How ya feelin'?"

Jack cracked open one eye so that he could send a shaky smile up at the face hovering over him "I've certainly seen better days Cotton tail" he rasped "But don't worry your ears off, I'll be up and around, beating you in races soon enough."

Jack had expected Bunny to reply in his usual snarky insult, but something in the Pooka's broke as he gazed down on the broken form of his friend. Giving a heavy swallow, Aster asked hesitantly "Jack, do you feel anything? Anything at all?"

Jack blinked in confusion "No…" he replied slowly "I mean, my back hurts if that's what you mean, but other than that I don't feel anything."

Bunny closed his eyes in abject grief, allowing his emotions to surface. Stepping aside, Jack was allowed to see Tooth standing at the foot of his bed grabbing one of his toes. Her lavender eyes wide with panic, she whispered in pained tones "Jack, are you sure you can't feel this, right here?"

The winter spirit felt his heart speed up as his breath hitched, and then began to hyperventilate. Terror filled tears began their lonely trek down his face as he determinedly tried to wiggle his toes, but his hopes crashed and burned as he saw nothing happen. North, the Sandman, Tooth, and the Easter Bunny waited expectantly, hoping against hope that the x-rays were wrong. But with a tortured sob, Jack cast broken eyes up at the tooth fairy and shook his head.

"No Tooth" he whispered in agony "I don't feel anything…"


	4. Naruto Halloween

**Disclaimer: ****I do not own the characters that I choose to use in this fanfiction…**

**OK! Someone asked me who North's favorite Naruto character was, and I promised I would write a short little drabble about them and their newfound obsession with Naruto. Please note, I WILL write the next part for Broken, but I want to do short little fillers in between each installment. This IS a drabble fic after all.**

**Remember! Read and REVIEW!**

"I can't believe the snowflake actually managed to talk us all into having a Halloween party." Bunny grumbled well naturedly.

Tooth found herself giggling "Oh really?" she said in a teasing manner "I don't remember you being against the idea when he decided to make our costume theme be Naruto."

"Oi, don't make it seem like I actually wanted to go along with this Tooth, because I didn't!" The Pooka exclaimed "Besides, everyone knows that once Jack's got something in his head he don't let go. Honestly, the ankle biter could put a pit bull to shame."

"Oh right…" the fairy rolled her eyes as she gave cast a mischievous grin at her obstinate friend "So that's why you were dressed and ready before everyone else."

Bunny blinked slowly at her, unsure of what to say, before giving a seemingly careless shrug "I didn't know what time this shindig started is all, besides, Jack did go through all the trouble to make the costume I requested."

"The costume… YOU requested?"

Aster fought the urge to face palm at his blunder, and hurriedly backpedaled "I didn't _request_ it per say… Just threw out a name so the little blighter would stop bugging me to make a decision."

Tooth found herself shaking her head fondly at the Pooka. In truth, the rabbit couldn't decide who he wanted to be. He may try to act that he couldn't care less, but in truth, Aster was now a genuine Narutard, with no hope rehabilitation. It took him an entire two weeks before he finally settled on which character he wanted to be. Glancing over, Tooth gave a dazzling smile at the bunny.

"And just out of curiosity…who are you again?"

"Aw come on Tooth!" Aster groaned "I'm Kakashi! He's only one of the coolest characters in the show!"

"Not that you care, right?" The fairy giggled.

Bunny glared at her with one eye as he turned towards a mirror and straightened his mask. He liked the character Kakashi for his skill, mystery, and overall coolness. He was dressed to the nines as this character in complete Ninja garb, going so far as to get the forehead protector that was slanted to cover one eye, and the face mask that went over his mouth and nose. Oh yeah, those animated turtles had nothing on him, he was a ninja rabbit.

Turning back to Tooth, the bunny gave her a cocky grin "You've gotta admit Toothiana, I make this look good."

The fairy doubled over as she snorted and giggled at the sheer enjoyment Aster was getting from his cosplay. He may scream that he wasn't, but they all knew better. Suddenly a chill filled the air, and the duo looked up to find Jack Frost floating down to join them. His hair had been temporarily dyed blond, which when added to his startling blue eyes, made him look like the spitting image of his favorite character. Dressed in the black and orange outfit that Naruto wore in Shippuden, Jack looked very much like his character.

"Wow!" He cried "Bunny you look great!"

"See," the Pooka practically purred "Told ya I look good."

"Never said you didn't" Tooth laughed before once again addressing the winter spirit "Besides, Jack looks pretty great too!"

"Thanks!" Jack grinned "I worked pretty hard on this, and I'm glad it turned out as awesome as it did. Speaking of costumes though, are you Sakura, Tooth?"

"Yeah," the fairy proclaimed proudly "I even dyed my feathers on my head pink so I could kind of have her hair!"

"You look amazing!"

Bunny smiled at the winter sprite's enthusiasm. He may have had his reservations at the beginning of having a Halloween party, but now seeing the kid sporting a grin so wide it was liable to fall off his face, the Pooka couldn't find it in himself to regret going along with the idea. Walking over, he ruffled the boy's hair fondly, and was about to say something that was half insult, half compliment, but was stopped by the next partygoer's entrance.

All looked up in time to see Sandy strutting his stuff, or doing as much strutting as one can do when they are floating, down towards his friends. He had initially wanted to be Gaara, but found that costume just a tad too difficult to construct considering his figure, so he decided instead to go with Choji. Getting himself a wig, and making the clothes wasn't too difficult, and the sandman actually found that Choji was a close second when it came to favorite characters.

"Alright," Jack smiled at the group "So now the only person left is North."

"Speaking of," Bunny murmured thoughtfully "Who did North want to dress up as?"

"Yeah!" Tooth interjected "We all chose our favorite characters, but North never said whose his was!"

Jack scratched the back of his head nervously "That's the interesting part" he chuckled "North didn't know who his favorite character was, and told me that he would work on his own costume by himself once he made a decision."

All stood in slack jawed silence as they considered just what North's decision was, and who would walk down those stairs. Luckily they did not have to wait long, because within just a few moments, all heard the door to Santa's office slam shut, and heavy footsteps begin their descent down the winding staircase. Crowding together, the guardians awaited their leader, all of their minds buzzing with curiosity as to who the large man picked.

"I'm putting money on him picking Baki" Jack whispered.

"You're on" Bunny chuckled softly "I think he picked Sarutobi."

Tooth opened her mouth, but was cut off when the footsteps finally came in view. All four of their jaws dropped as they took in the wild white hair, and the red lines going from his eyes down his cheeks. Granted he kept the beard, but still, it was no doubt that the character North had chosen for the party was…

"Jiraiya?!" Came the unanimous cry of disbelief, sans Sandy of course, but his dream sand was doing a pretty accurate job conveying his shock.

North let out a long bellow of laughter at their reactions to his costume, and walked over to his family.

"Yes!" he proclaimed as he placed his fists on his hips in a proud stance "I choose Jiraiya!"

"But why?" Tooth asked incredulously.

"Yeah, mate" Bunny muttered as he shook his head in shock "of all the characters in the show, you chose the 'super pervert'?"

"Now Bunny," North said calmly, his eyes twinkling with amusement "Just because I'm Santa, does not mean that I cannot have sense of humor, no?"

Jack was the first to recover from his shock, and promptly burst out laughing. "I LOVE IT!" he squealed in glee "This. Is. AWESOME!"

Before too long, the entire group had been infected by the winter sprite's enthusiasm, and the party was quickly under way. Soon all the guardians were having fun playing ninja themed games. One of which being pin the tail on the donkey, but with a twist; someone had gotten the bright idea to dress up the elves as ninja shuriken, which somehow became a battle when Jack threw one at Bunny. Soon everyone was having an all out shuriken battle, not minding that they were actually throwing elves, and not ninja weapons.

Later that night, everyone sat around the fire, panting from exhaustion, and enjoying random bursts of giggle fits over the night's activities. Tooth eventually had to leave to fulfill her nightly duties, as did Sandy, which left just Aster, North, and the guardian of Fun. Jack had sat on the floor with his back propped up against the couch, and had inexplicably fallen asleep within just a few moments of sitting down. North gently lowered himself onto the floor next to the boy, and smiled fondly down at the young guardian. Bunny sat across from them, his eyes distant as he pondered a question that never truly got answered.

"Oi, North" the Pooka began, his voice soft so as to not wake the sleeping sprite "Tell me the truth, mate. Why did you pick Jiraiya?"

North gave Aster a tender smile "Answer is simple old friend" he said gently "In TV show, this character is god father to Naruto, yes? I believe no child should be without parent, especially not Jack. Tonight I want to show that that is what I wish to be, that I want to be his parent, his guardian."

Bunny found a smile creeping across his face, and his throat grew thick with emotion. He could only nod his head, and then turn back to the flames as he turned over this innocent yet powerful statement made by Father Christmas. North chose his character in order to send Jack a small message that he wanted to be more than just a team leader, but he wanted to be Jack's father figure. Maybe Jack didn't understand that message, but know that North had explained himself, Aster could see it all too clearly.

Giving a soft chuckle, the bunny realized that that sentiment had some power in how he had chosen his character as well. Kakashi was the sometimes harsh, but always reliable teacher slash big brother figure for Naruto, and wasn't that true of him. Despite his surly attitude towards the winter spirit, Aster could not deny the fierce love and protectiveness that was growing ever stronger in his heart for the small child. Jack had quite neatly become a little brother to him, an annoying obnoxious git most of the time, but someone he never wanted to replace.

Turning back to the large man, Bunny prepared to share that revelation, but closed his mouth at the touching scene before him. Apparently during his reverie, North had pulled Jack in for a sideways hug, an action the unconscious boy gladly reciprocated. Now both sat on the floor with their backs leaning against the couch, Jack curled up against North's side, while Father Christmas sat with his arm laid protectively around the boy's shoulders, and they were both sound asleep.

Whiskers twitching in amusement, he could only shake his head fondly, curl up in his chair, and drift off into a sleep full of love filled moments with their happy, albeit strange, family.

**READ and REVIEW people! Also, if anyone has any prompts, or ideas, feel free to send them along. I can't guarantee that I will write all of them, but whichever ones inspire me most, those will I write!**


	5. Broken part 2

**Disclaimer:**** No! For the fifty bajillionth time! I do NOT own ROTG!**

**Galimatias: That is a very cute story idea, and I will try to make it my next filler chapter in between the installments of Broken!**

**LillithDemon: Yes, Bunny does pull off Kakashi rather well when you think about it, doesn't he? As he said, he made that look good. And yes, Jiraiya was Naruto's God father, and North has become Jack's father. So sweet!**

**Magiccatprincess: Yes, I am obsessed with brotherly bunny, especially when it is fics where Jack is crying and Bunny helps him through it. Lord knows I'm such a huge softie for those.**

**Pokeshadow55: I would love to write that, but since I have yet to see the movie, I have no idea the personalities, or even the names of the kids, and I know I could learn that by reading fanfiction, but I would rather base my stories off of the source. So since I am currently overseas in Korea until spring, do you think you could wait a little while until I can buy the movie and watch it?**

**WRATH77: Honestly…if you think about it…there was no one else that he COULD pick LOL!**

**Guest1234: Thank you, thank you, thank you, and thank you. LOL I'm glad you like the fic thus far!**

**OK! Now that THAT is over with! Here is the next installment of Broken!**

The world seemed to slow down as the voices faded away, and Jack was lost in his own world of pain, panic, and a palpable sorrow so deep the winter spirit was sure that he would suffocate under its weight. He vaguely remembered screaming for everyone to leave the room, a demand which Tooth, Sandy and North had complied to with grief filled looks in his direction. Bunny had lingered, trying to reach out to the boy, but Jack wouldn't look at him, and the brokenness within the boy's once bright crystal eyes only proved to solidify that he wasn't in the mood for company.

Lying on the bed, Jack brought trembling hands up to his face, and clenched his fists, squeezing them into his eyes. As if the added pressure would somehow stop the sobs creeping up his throat. His ears pricked at the soft undertone of voices outside his door. Random phrases floated in through the wood, things like _"Axial Burst fracture in the spine" "Might need surgery" "He will need several months to heal"_ and worst of all_ "Hopefully he will walk again"_. Jack turned his head towards the window, and as the full realization that he was paralyzed from the waist down bore down on the boy, the tears he had tried to hold back for so long finally found release.

Bunny stood outside the room, his sensitive ears picking up every broken sob, every hitch, and every hiccup. Dragging one paw down his weary face, the Pooka heaved a sigh full of sorrow for the winter spirit. What lay ahead was going to be difficult, and Bunny could only hope that Jack would have the strength to endure it. But as that last thought flickered through his mind, the Easter Bunny gave his head a firm shake. No, Jack was strong, of this the rabbit knew. He was weak right now, but who wouldn't be after being attacked, and waking up to no feeling in their legs? What Jack needed now was his family. Yes the future was bleak, but they could get through this dark tunnel together. Jack just needed to realize that he wasn't going through this alone. Green eyes full of determination, the Pooka squared his shoulders, and took his official post as caretaker to the winter sprite. Even if he spent most of his time out of the room, he was not going to move from the boy's side, not until he no longer needed a pillar to lean on.

…

Three weeks went by with a surgery being done on Jack's back to remove the shard fragments that had broken off his spinal column. North had left the surgery with hope gleaming in his eyes. If Jack were a human, the outcome would look very grim, but the boy was a winter spirit, an immortal, and a guardian. He would heal, and they would have their Jack back again. Yes it would take time, and healing, but eventually this nightmare would end. Unfortunately the sprite did not quite see it that way.

Jack hated being in bed, and right before winter too. He could feel the wind calling him, could hear the mountains sing their song of lament for their fallen friend, and all he could do was stare out the window, his blue eyes dull with pain and grief. In the three weeks since he had been brought to Santoff Claussen, since that fateful night when he woke in the infirmary, the boy had not spoken not a word. The silence was deafening, and no one even knew how to help him, though all had tried. Even the yeti's had done their best to revive the once mischievous smile that had always adorned the pale face, but to no avail. Jack had crawled within himself, and for all they knew, he had died. But Bunny wasn't about to give up, no sir, he was going to get Jack back on his feet both literally and figuratively.

The Pooka had spent hours in the library at the Pole, and he had done his research on the best treatments to encourage fast recovery from a Burst fracture. One of which being a specially designed brace. It was decided that they wanted to avoid any surgery in the near future, and so the Pooka began helping North craft a TLSO, or in medical terms a Thoracic Lumbar Sacral Orthosis. This full body brace was made to help keep the spine stable during the healing process, and with the help of a specially designed wheel chair, Aster was determined to get the kid out of his room, and out of his funk.

"Oi, Snowflake!" Bunny called as he entered the room "I got a present for ya!"

At first there was no response, but sure enough, a small glint of their Jack shined through when his curiosity got the better of him. Bunny couldn't resist the relieved smile that there was still a small piece of the boy still inside of the broken shell currently lying on the bed. Strutting over to the bed, Aster held up the brace like Vanna White on Jeopardy.

"Ta da!"

Jack's brow furrowed with confusion, then opened his mouth, causing the Pooka's heart to leap at his first words in almost a month.

"What is it?" the boy said in a dry rasp.

"This" Bunny said in the most cheerful voice he could muster "Is a TLSO, it's a special brace to help keep your spine in alignment while it heals. This type is called a Charleston Bending brace, and is the most popular type of brace used for kids and teenagers. Technically you're only supposed to where it at night, but I thought we could give her a whirl, and see how she feels?"

With a muttered "Whatever" Jack turned his face back towards the window.

Bunny felt his proud chest deflate at the winter sprite's lack of enthusiasm, but quickly picked himself up again. Well, the little blighter didn't say no, which means that they could give it a try. Walking up to the bed, the rabbit grabbed the sheets covering the boy and pulled them off.

"Hey!" Jack yelped "What are you doing?"

"I just told ya!" Bunny replied, an evil grin lighting his face at the reaction Jack had given "We are gonna try on this brace and see how it makes your back feel!"

"I didn't agree to this!"

"Yes you did." Aster couldn't resist goading the boy. This was the most life they had seen out of him in three weeks, and by Manny, he was going to get the most out of it "You said 'Whatever', which by layman's terms is a noncommittal answer, leaving me to do what I want."

Jack felt his jaw drop. Never before had Bunny been able to argue him into a corner before. Normally the two could bicker for hours before either of them gained even the slightest headway in whatever they were arguing about. But somehow the Pooka had managed to shut him up in record time. A firm pout replaced his once dull lifeless look, and Aster had to use all the strength within him to keep from whooping in joy. He knew the brace was a good idea, even if Jack may end up hating it, the simple fact that he had managed to not only get the sprite to talk, even argue, was enough for him.

"All right ankle biter!" the bunny said smugly "Let get this doohickey on ya, and see how it fits."

With gentle hands that were used to handling fragility, Bunny turned the child onto his stomach and began the long process of strapping the complex brace onto the boy. At first Jack would hiss in pain where the pads of the brace pressed against sore spots in his back and ribs, but as soon as the brace had been strapped on, he suddenly found he could breathe. As if the metal worked a magic spell keeping his back straight and not letting so much stress bear down on it. Turning the boy back over, Bunny propped him up on some pillows allowing him to at least have his head elevated a little bit off the mattress.

"How's she feel?" the Pooka asked hesitantly.

"Good" Jack smiled "Really good."

Bunny released a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding "That's good" he almost whispered from relief, but the rabbit quickly shook himself, and gruffly cleared his throat "I've been doing a lot of reading, and I thought that we could try having you wear this contraption every night for a while, then depending on how you're doing, we could try out some basic physical therapy."

Jack nodded, and then silently let the rabbit take the brace off of him. Bunny turned towards the boy and gestured to the brace "I will come back later to put this thing on ya before bed, ok?"

"Sure" the sprite nodded, but as he watched the Pooka leave, he quickly yelled "Bunnymund!"

Aster turned around, his eyes confused and curious as to what the boy would want. Jack opened his mouth, but nothing came out. Clearing his throat he tried one more time "Bunny, I… I mean, what I want to say is… Thanks, I mean thank you…you know…for helping."

Hanging the brace up on a nail on the wall, Bunny swiftly walked back to the bed, and gathered the boy up in a hug. Jack felt his eyes widen as moisture crept into the corners of his vision. With trembling hands, he gripped the soft fur, and buried his nose into the Pooka's shoulder. Aster smiled at the returned hug, and nuzzled the white head with his nose.

"I'll always be here Snowflake," he murmured softly "that's what family is for, right?"

He didn't know why, he had thought that he had drained himself of tears, but the reassurance from the large bunny only served to prove him wrong. This contact, this strength, this assurance that despite the pain everything would eventually be ok, Jack craved it the way a starving man craved food. Everything in his inner most core screamed for someone to acknowledge how much pain he was in, and take it away. And so Jack found himself once again sobbing, but this time he was not alone in his room grieving over seemingly impossible injuries, this time he was in the arms of his brother, and finally finding comfort in the midst of the storm.

**ALRIGHT! You know the drill everyone! Read and REVIEW! I wanna see MUCHO GRANDE reviews, ok? As I'm sure you probably have already guessed, the next chapter will be a filler, so no the next chappie won't be another Installment of Broken, but it will be Family fluffiness! Thanks for reading!**


	6. Bedtime stories part 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own ROTG…but one day…mark my words…..**

**OK! This chapter is for Galimatias who requested I do a filler chapter with them reading bedtime stories to Jack. I won't do it exactly the way they said, but I thought of an interesting way to tell it which just might take a couple chapters. So enjoy this chapter, and please review!**

It all started with a scream.

Jack was at the Pole enjoying his summer months off when it happened, a nightmare. North was downstairs in his favorite chair by the fire when he heard the agonized cries coming from Jack's tower. At first he thought it was the wind, but when a Yeti came grunting with urgent hoots and gibbers, the man knew that it was something else indeed. Leaping to his feet, he followed Phil up the stairs towards the sounds.

They came to a stop outside of Jack's room, and with a grieved sigh, Father Christmas opened the door to find the boy thrashing about on his bed. Striding over, North sat on the mattress and grasped the boy by his trembling shoulders.

"Jack" He said firmly "JACK!"

Crystal blue eyes flew open, and the winter sprite could not hold back the yelp of fear mixed with surprise at his sudden awakening by Santa. Wriggling from North's grasp, and still half lost in his dream, the boy backpedaled away from the large man, and sat trembling against the wall. North watched the sprite carefully, waiting for him to fully regain consciousness before addressing him.

"Jack" The large man spoke softly "Jack, it was only dream, you are safe."

Finally his vision came into focus, and Jack remembered where he was. Embarrassed eyes fell to the bed sheets, and Jack wrapped his arms around his legs that were now curled up against his chest. Burying his face into his knees, North barely heard the muffled apology come from the still shaking boy.

"I'm sorry…"

North jerked back as if he had been slapped "For what?" he asked incredulously.

"For causing you trouble." was the soft reply.

"Is no trouble" the man reassured "If was problem, I would not invite you to live here. Nightmare is not problem, but I do worry about when you have them alone."

Jack lifted his head and gazed at the man seated by him, opening his mouth, indecision danced in his eyes on what he should reply. Should he be his usually sarcastic self? Or could he take a chance, and be truthful with the man. His brain screamed at him to just brush it off like nothing was wrong, say something that would make North leave, but the compassion radiating from the large man made him change his mind. Biting his bottom lip, Jack heaved a sigh at the cliff he was about to jump off of, and he hoped that someone would catch him. North could sense the mood change, and positioned himself so that his attention was square on the child, he was ready to catch Jack, ready to support him in the leap of faith he sensed was coming.

"I…" Jack began slowly, his voice quavering with the fear of removing his armor and baring himself in front of another living being "I don't…usually…sleep….at all."

North took a deep breath in order to restrain the violent emotions now tumbling through his heart. He had seen the exhaustion on the boy's face, but had thought that the dark bags under his eyes was just part of being a winter spirit. How could he have been so naïve?

"Why do you not sleep?" North asked, his Russian accent even thicker due to his emotional state.

"Because…" Jack clamped his lips shut, and one hand began to idly pick at his blankets. North feared he had shut down again, but after a few moments, was finally rewarded the answer to his question "Because I always have nightmares. I'm scared to fall asleep because somehow they always find me, even when Sandy has visited, I still get chased by the darkness."

At this answer the man was dumbfounded, what could he do? How do you fight a nightmare once it is inside a person's head without dream sand? But just as that question went through his head, North got an idea.

"You know" the man said softly as he wagged one finger in Jack's direction "I remember when I was child I did not like to go to sleep either."

The winter spirit glanced up sharply at the Guardian of wonder, he had suffered from nightmares as a child? North smiled at the boy's looks of surprise, and then walked over to one side of the room and lit a comforting fire in the fireplace. After a healthy fire was going, the man commenced with dragging a chair over to the bedside, he then sat down and made himself comfortable.

"I will do what my father had done for me." He said with a self satisfied smile on his face.

"What?" Jack asked curiously.

"I will tell you bed time story!"

Jack felt a laugh of disbelief burst from his mouth "Uh North" he chuckled "I'm not a kid, I mean, I'm three hundred and sixteen years old. I don't need a bedtime story."

"Bah!" North blurted "In Russia, everyone loves stories. Men would travel around the world telling stories. Once long time ago, being storyteller was respectable job, and even kings would have professional storyteller come to tell great tales for entire court!"

Jack found himself smiling and finally nodded his head in acquiescence. North smiled and waited until the boy had once again crawled under the blankets, the story ready and waiting on his lips.

"This story" he proclaimed with a devilish glint in his eye "Is one I heard long time ago in Germany, it is called Sapsorrow."

Jack sighed, and allowed himself to fall under the story's spell. Snuggling deep into his blankets, the boy arranged his pillow so that he could hear the tale better.

"Once upon a time, there was a king…."

…..The story of Sapsorrow…

Once upon a time there was a king who had three daughters. Two of them were evil and selfish, while the one was good and kind. The king had no wife, for his had died many years before, and soon, he had realized, he would be alone for his daughters were of marriageable age. The thought of being alone made the King sad, and so he decided that he would find himself a bride to ease the pain of parting with his children.

Now the kingdom had a law that was as ancient as the land itself. When the king wished to find a bride he must use the Royal Ring. A ring full of ancient untold magic's that would fit only the woman meant to become queen, and the law stated that whomever the ring fit, the King _must_ marry that woman. There was no way that he could say no, it had to be done, and so despite this one danger, the king set out into the kingdom determined to find himself a wife.

"Hear ye! Hear ye!" declared the town crier "She who wishes to wed our King, must come forward and try the ring! The lucky bride will want for nothing!"

One of the evil sisters stood on a balcony, listening to the town crier with a sneer twisting her thin lips "How dare he!" she hissed

"What?" the other evil sister asked "What are you nattering about?"

"Father!" the first exclaimed "He's going into the kingdom to find a wife!"

"What!" the second replied stupidly "He's too old to get married, he ought to be dying shortly!"

"Well I don't believe him to be too old, love does not care for age" Sapsorrow said with a gentle smile.

But the sisters ignored her, the first spinning her own tale of what she believed would happen "You know what will happen?" she spat "He will find some harpy, the ring will fit, they'll get married and he'll die, and she'll get everything, that is what is going to happen!"

The more the sisters sulked over the prospect of a stepmother, the crueler they were to poor Sapsorrow. They teased, tortured, and tormented her. Starving her by stealing the food off her plate, declaring her too fat, but they did not reckon her friends. Sapsorrow had many friends, critters and animals, which lived with her in her bedroom. Every night she would come to her bedroom to find piles of nuts and berries, and all kinds of wonderful things to eat.

It wasn't until the night their father came home to hold one final trying of the ring from the palace that things took a true turn for the worse.

High in a hidden nook, the evil sisters glared at the countless women in disdain. Finally the elder of the two turned to her sister.

Now the eldest was not one who was known for her wit, but on this fateful day she had an idea that would bring such calamity to the palace unlike anything they had ever known. Her lips puckered in thought, a feat in itself to be sure, she finally groused "It's bound to fit someone eventually."

"Indeed" the second sister replied "How disgusting."

Suddenly an idea lit the eldest's eyes "You know…we should be queens actually, I mean what if the ring were to fit me…or you?"

The second evil sister smiled at the idea "Father couldn't marry us since we are his daughters though."

"Yes" the eldest nodded "But then he couldn't marry anybody."

And so the deal was struck, and as soon as the hall had emptied out for the day, the sisters stole down to the throne room, in order to try on the ring.

The eldest looked down at the ring, her eyes bright with greed "Well…let's have a try, shall we?"

Grabbing the ring, she placed it onto her ring finger, only to groan in disbelief at it not fitting. With a pout, she thrust the ring at her younger sister "Well you try it" she snarled "You've got fat fingers!"

"I do not!" the second sister retorted, but quickly took the ring, and placed it on her finger. But it soon became apparent that it did not fit her either, because soon she was screeching in pain due to the blood flow in her finger being cut off by the unforgiving metal.

Sapsorrow approached her sisters, and asked "May I help?"

Neither could refuse since the second sister's finger was turning a garish shade of purple. Pulling it off with a firm but gentle tug, the evil sister sighed in relief as the metal band fell to the floor with a 'ping'. But their activities had not gone unnoticed. Soon the king swept into the room, his face etched with worry and concern.

"What is wrong?" he asked "What is with all the hue and cry?"

"Hue and cry Daddy?" the eldest asked tremulously "whatever do you mean?"

"I heard it" the king replied "Coming from this very room, are you ok my girls?"

Then Sapsorrow did something she would long regret. She bent down, and picked up the ring, placing it on her finger for safe keeping, and though the king had not noticed her action, he did notice that the pillow where the ring usually lay was conspicuously empty.

"Where is your mother's ring?" he cried.

The evil sisters looked at each other and then pointed at their youngest sister Sapsorrow "Well, she was playing with it!" they accused.

"What?" the king balked "Why would you do such a thing?"

"But I wasn't!" Sapsorrow tried to defend herself, but it was too late, for the king had grabbed her hand, and was now gazing in horror at her ring finger, with the royal ring fitting perfectly as if it had been made for her.

Later that night, Sapsorrow sat in her room, bitter tears streaming down her face "I cannot marry my father" she wept "But neither can I ignore the law. But I cannot shame the king!"

But the ring, is the ring, is the ring.

Soon the palace was full of counselors all telling the King that the law was the law, and despite the strange circumstances, he must wed his daughter. Sapsorrow, steeled herself, a plan forming in her intelligent brain.

"If I am to wed the king" she said softly "then bring me a dress of the palest silk, like the moon, I will not wed till I have it."

The princess in her woe sits in her room, planning a plan, and scheming a scheme. To find such a dress would take time, and until then she needed all the help she could get.

Days and weeks pass until finally a beautiful gown of the palest silk is brought to her, looking very much like the moon woven into fabric. Sapsorrow smiled thinly "Indeed" she said sadly "It is very much like the moon, but now I need a gown of sparkling silver, like the stars, for my trousseau."

And off the kings men go, scouring the land for such a dress, but all the while in Sapsorrow's room, another dress was being made, one more wondrous and magical. Soon the dress of silver, sparkling like the stars was brought to her, and Sapsorrow nodded her consent.

"Beautiful, just like the stars" she whispered "The first dress was for the wedding feast, and the second for the procession, but now I need one for the church. Gold it should be, as gold as the sun, bring me such a dress, and…we shall marry on the morrow."

And so the royal tailors set to work making thread spun from the purest gold, and all the while, Sapsorrow never ventured from her room. Only her creatures, flying in, slithering out, were the signs of life coming in and going out. Finally the golden garment, sewn by a hundred hands was brought to her.

That night, Sapsorrow stayed in her room, and slowly, she folded her dresses into small bags. Taking the garment she had made during her confinement, she put it on, and stole out of the palace. The royal guard chased her into the forest, searching for the princess, but found only a strange creature of fur and feathers. Yes, it was Sapsorrow, but the garment had caused a strange thing to happen. She was transformed from princess, to monster…

…..

"That can't be the end of the story!" Jack cried indignantly "That's horrible!"

"Why would it be so horrible?" North asked, his eyes twinkling with mirth.

"Because!" the winter spirit cried throwing his arms wide "Princesses are supposed to find a prince, and get married, and live happily ever after, not run away from the palace to live as a beast thing!"

"Oh, so I suppose you are expert on old folktales?" North asked as he crossed his arms.

"Well, no" Jack sighed "But you can't tell me you are happy with that ending."

"I would admit that, if it was ending" North chuckled "But lucky for you, it is not."

Jack found a happy smile lighting his face "Good! Now finish the story."

"If you insist" the large man smiled fondly "Ahem! Now, as I was saying…"

…

Two years later, a poor creature of fur and feathers worked tending geese in the King's palace, she was known only as the straggletag, and she had told no one of her origins. There she scrubbed the floor, washed dishing, and did the dirty work that others turned their nose up at. It was during this time that the Crown prince decided to hold a ball. The straggletag remembered the gowns she had secreted away with her when she had left the palace, and immediately made plans to attend the ball.

Later that night, the grand event was in full swing. Countless young girls wearing their mother's pearls strutted before the prince hoping he would take notice. But the prince did not, at least not until one woman walked into the gathering, wearing a dress of the palest silk.

What could the prince do beside take her hand, and lead her to the floor? The music began, and they danced, one a handsome prince, the other a beautiful woman wearing a dress that had trapped the mystery of the moon within its folds. And as the night wore on, they knew, they belonged together, but when the music stopped…

"Wait!" the prince cried as he chased the mysterious woman out the doors "I don't even know your name, please stop!"

The prince was left mystified, tingling, and absolutely hooked.

The next day, the prince raged through the castle, declaring the need for yet another ball, and yet again the night was full of music and beauties. The prince stood by the door, his gaze glued to the main door, waiting in longing for the woman who had captured his heart so completely. And then, a hush, and then a face. A woman walked in wearing a gown of silver, sparkling like the stars. The prince once again danced the night away with her, and once again, she ran away leaving his heart rent in two, his insides trembling with yearning for the beauty who only appeared after dark.

The next day, the prince called for a third ball, but the palace was in quite the disarray. Later that night, she waited for her chance to steal away to the ball, but her responsibilities in the kitchen trapped her until almost the end of the party. The prince waited on the terrace steps, his heart beating wildly as his gaze searching for his love, until finally, she arrived wearing a gown of gold, shining like the sun. But she could not stay long, and as she ran away, she left a shoe.

The prince grasped the shoe as if it were a life line, and then the next morning he declared that all the women who had come to the ball should try on the shoe. He would marry the woman whom the shoe fit. The straggletag sat in the cellar, her mind abuzz with the chance she had been given. Should she take the chance? For what was true of the finger, should be true of the foot. She had been cursed by the ring, but maybe she could be blessed by the shoe. And so, she stole into the throne room, behind every woman, and waited for her chance. Finally, hours later, she approached the prince. He reared back, shocked by the appearance of such a strange creature, but the straggletag merely smiled. Placing her foot in the shoe, she listened to the court gasp as they saw that it fit.

The prince's face fell, but as they watched, a wondrous thing happened. Birds flew through the windows, and began to pick apart the garment. Before the entire court, the garment fell away in a flurry of wings, and there was left standing beautiful Sapsorrow. The prince ran forward, grasping her hands in his, and there rang out words of "Darling" and "Beloved". Within the day, they had been married, and lived happily ever after.

….

North finished the story, and glanced over at the winter sprite, which was now sleeping peacefully on his mattress. The large man chuckled, but went over and tucked him in. Pressing a tender kiss to the forehead of the boy who was quickly becoming like a son to him, North ran his hand through the unruly white hair.

"You see Jack" the man whispered "They lived happily ever after, and so will you, I promise."

At this, Jack murmured a few incoherent words in his sleep, but quickly fell back into the folds of slumber. North smiled, and then walked out of the room, closing the door softly behind him.

**Hope you like this chapter! As the chapter name suggests, this is only the first part of what will be a four part series, with each of the guardians taking turns telling a bedtime story to our favorite winter sprite. Next will be Toothiana, and then Sandy, and then Bunny being the last. To anyone wondering, no I did not make this story up by myself. It is a genuine folktale from Germany, and it is one of my favorites. Each of the guardians will tell an original fairy tale, and I hope you enjoy the selections!**


	7. Broken Part 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything that has to do with ROTG…yet…**

**Ok, so here is the third installment of Broken. I know it may seem like I'm rushing it, but I am not very good at writing recovery fics. So forgive me if I seem like I'm rushing it at all.**

"Aster…" Jack whimpered, his eyes clenched shut as tears squeezed through and trickled down his cheeks "Please don't make me do this, it hurts."

"Kid, ya gotta do it" The bunny said gently "Now come on, buck up mate."

Another pained whine slipped from quivering lips, but Jack complied as he lay on his back on top of a flat table where he and the Easter bunny were currently working on his physical therapy. It had been almost two months since his initial injury, and the Pooka had finally deemed him fit enough to start on the basics in strengthening his core so that he might start learning to walk again. The current statistics for back injury victims says that core strength was the surest way to helping a patient be able to get back on their feet, and even though it pained him, Aster was determined to help Jack grit his teeth through the pain and walk.

Their current exercise looked easy enough, but for Jack, it was agony. Bunny walked over, and pushed the boy's legs up where his knees were bent and his feet were flat on the table.

"A'right" the rabbit spoke with as much compassion as he could without letting Jack give in to the pain "Remember, suck in your belly button all the way to your back, and then on three, I want you to arch your back and try to keep your stomach up in the air for ten seconds without letting your hips leave the table."

Jack gave a heavy swallow of apprehension before nodding his head. They had been at this for about an hour, and had finally begun the last set of exercises before Bunny would let him call it quits for the day. All they had to do was finish this one last move, and he was done.

"On three…" Bunny whispered "One…two…three!"

Jack arched his back, lifting his stomach into the air, but almost immediately white hot agony burned through his spine. A sob burst from his lips, and desperate fingers scratched the table.

"Bunny, I can't do this!" Jack sobbed "Please, it hurts!"

"Come on Jackie!" the Pooka encouraged, one paw grabbing the winter sprite's hand "Just five more seconds!"

A cry caught between a scream and a sob ripped from the boy's throat as he struggled to keep his stomach elevated. He could feel the healing muscles and bone burning from the exercise, and all he wanted to do was just give up and make it all go away. Bunny placed one paw under the space between the table and the boy's back, knowing ahead of time that it would need to be there. Sure enough, as Aster counted down to one, Jack let go as a rush of air whooshed from his lungs, and the bunny caught the pale frame neatly, not allowing it to hit the table. Gently placing the injured spine back on the table, Bunny cast a worried glance at the young guardian.

Jack was dissolving into a puddle of tears, both of his arms were covering his face, and his thin shoulders shook as violent sobs wracked his body. His hair was plastered to his forehead with sweat, and his ribs trembled and quivered from the exertions of that morning. The Pooka bent over, and gently removed his arms from his face, placing them on either side of him. But Jack merely brought them back up, this time using his hands, ashamed that Bunny was seeing him cry like a scared child. That last thought though only brought the water works to an all time high, because in that moment Jack realized not for the first time, that that was all he really was right then. He wasn't Jack Frost, He wasn't a Winter Spirit, and he certainly wasn't a Guardian. He was a scared child, in pain, and unable to cope with it.

Bunny could smell the distress coming of the child in waves, but even if he couldn't smell it, he could very obviously see it. With a grieved sigh, the rabbit gathered Jack up in his arms and held him, softly nuzzling the white hair in an attempt to comfort him.

"I'm so sorry…" Jack wept miserably "I'm so, so sorry."

"Oi," the rabbit said sternly "You have no reason to be apologizing! You did good today, and even though you were in pain, you didn't slack off on your therapy. You showed real strength."

"But that's just it" Jack sniffled "I didn't. I'm not strong, and I'm no guardian. If it were you, you would probably be walking by now, not crying like some little kid."

"Well that's not true…"

"Yes it is!" Jack wailed "I'm nothing like you! You're always so tough and calm and I always lose my temper or get overemotional… I'm pathetic."

"Now stop this" Aster said sternly "That ain't true either. You are not pathetic, and you got a lot more going for ya than ya think!"

"Oh yeah?" Jack laugh humorlessly "Name one."

Bunny allowed a tender smile to cross his face as he held the boy away from him. Taking one finger, he pushed the boy's chin up in order for him to look the winter sprite in the eye.

"Jack, Who am I?"

"Huh?" the winter sprite asked, crystal blue eyes gazing up at his friend.

"I asked ya, who am I?"

Jack shrugged "You're the Easter Bunny."

"And…?"

"The…" Jack searched for the correct answer before finally replying "The guardian of Hope?"

"Exactly!" Bunny nodded emphatically "You got the Guardian of Hope as your personal physical therapist, now I don't know about you, but that sounds like a sight better than what anyone else what got a spine injury has got. Now I know times look pretty down, but look at your progress. You are able to sit up by yourself, and we are doing good work on strengthening your core, add in the fact that you will probably working the bars in another month, and in no time at all, you're gonna be walking mate!"

"But…" Jack cast depressed tear filled blue eyes at the table "What if I'm not strong enough? I still can't feel my legs Bunny, what if I never walk again? What if…" Jack voice caught in his throat as he whispered his greatest fear "What if Manny decides I'm no longer good enough to be a guardian?"

"Now you listen to me" Aster said softly, his green eyes emphasizing each word as they almost glowed with conviction. "That is NOT going to happen. You are going to heal, you will get the feelings back in your legs, and you will walk again. I promise!"

As much as he didn't want to cry again, Jack's eyes were determined to betray him at any cost, which of course led him to once again crying into the Pooka's fur. Bunny didn't grumble even one bit though, he merely held the boy close, murmuring words of reassurance, and rubbing his back in calming circles. Finally after what seemed like hours, Bunnymund looked down to see that the boy had cried himself to sleep. Shaking his head fondly, the large rabbit picked him up, and carried him to his room to tuck him into his bed.

"How is he?"

Aster turned from where he had been standing to face Toothiana. Giving her a weak smile he shook his head "The little blighter's exhausted, emotionally and physically, and to be honest Tooth I can't say I blame him."

"He's not the only one that's tired." Tooth replied softly placing a concerned hand on the Pooka's shoulder.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, the rabbit watched the boy sleep, every so often taking a paw and running it through the snowy white hair. Heaving a weary sigh, Bunny thought about the morning's activities, and the truth was, Tooth was right; he was just as exhausted as the kid. Being someone's emotional, mental, and physical support was draining, and all the bunny wanted to do was take a nice long nap in a sunlit spot in his warren. Nodding in the fairy's direction, the rabbit once again stood up, a small groan slipping from his lips as he stretched sore muscles.

"You're right." He murmured "Mind taking care of the kid while I catch a little shut eye?"

"It would be my pleasure." Tooth smiled.

With that, Bunny tapped the ground twice with a weary foot, and took off for his warren. Hopefully after a nice long bunny nap, he would be up to snuff enough to help Jack do his next round of physical therapy; after all, he had a promise to keep.

**OK! Broken is going to have a few more parts to it, don't worry, I won't leave you lot hanging on Jack's recovery period. **

**ALSO! I have an idea for a one shot… I think I want to write both, but I need YOUR votes to tell me which gets written first, ok?! So here are your choices…**

**Jack and Bunny switch bodies…**

**Jack get's turned into a snowy white baby Pooka…**

**Your decision will decide which gets written first! SO VOTE! And REVIEW!**


	8. Baby Jack

**Disclaimer: No I own nothing of ROTG…but in my mind…Jack is all mine!**

**OK! So far it seems pretty unanimous that everyone wanted to see Jack turned into a baby Pooka, and so here it is. A small, enjoyment filled chapter(or two depending on whether this drabble takes on a mind of its own) of Jack and Bunny father/son goodness!**

"Oh this is going to be fun."

This was the first time that Jack said this phrase and actually felt sarcastic towards it. Normally he faced life head on, with no fear of what may come, but this situation was different.

Jack didn't like the desert, not during the day at least, and he certainly never wanted to spend time there, especially not for a battle; but here he was fighting in the sand dunes of Arizona, trying his best not to melt. Who were they battling? Not Pitch, and that fact alone made Jack frustrated. Dragging his butt out there for Pitch would have been understandable, but this particular problem was not high on his priority list, and his name was Chikashi.

Now Chikashi was the Native American Indian spirit of the Trickster, and for the past few months this idiot had been making mirages out of sandstorms, and leading people into them just to watch them stumble around lost. Chikashi thought it hilarious, but the guardians did not, especially when most of those who died were children. So here they were, fighting Chikashi, trying to convince him that his mirages were a really bad joke.

"Look, Dude" Jack panted as he wiped sweat from his face with the sleeve of his hoodie "I can appreciate a good joke, I mean, I AM the guardian of FUN, but this is getting really out of hand!"

"What do you know!" Chikashi taunted "You've only been around for three hundred years, while I've been around for much longer than that."

"Listen to the boy, mate" Bunny said as he casually twirled his boomerang expertly "Normally I don't agree with the blighter, but in this case I hate to say he's right. Besides, if you decide not to, you will have to deal with me, and that mate, is not something that you want."

"Indeed" North cut in brandishing his swords to emphasize his words "You do not wish to mess with us Chikashi that would be bad idea."

Chikashi made a show of thinking things over and then let a grin split his face "Actually you're wrong, I DO want to mess with you, and I know just how to do it."

Turning around, the trickster gave an evil grin towards Jack "You think you're so superior now that you're a guardian" Chikashi snarled "But I'm going to play my best trick yet, and you get to be the lucky person who enjoys all the fun!"

Before Jack could react, the trickster dove towards the winter spirit, and grabbed him by the throat. The guardians stood and watched with horror filled eyes as a bright light enveloped the two of them, before finally Chikashi stepped away leaving Jack crumpled on the ground gasping as he labored to bring air back into his lungs. The trickster began to walk away, dusting his hands off with a self satisfied smirk.

"What did you do?" Toothiana cried her angry lavender eyes laced with worry.

"To Jack?" Chikashi asked innocently "Oh nothing, except a little spell I conjured up especially for him."

"What kind of spell?" North growled.

"You see, every spirit knows about the legendary rivalry between the Easter Bunny and Jack Frost" the trickster divulged "I mean, it isn't a secret that they can't stand each other. So in light of that information, I made a spell that will turn Jack into his worst nightmare."

As if on cue, Jack began to scream, his body curling up into a ball as his arms wrapped themselves around his middle. Sandman rushed over to the boy, his eyes wide with panic. The boy bucked and thrashed, his back arched from the sheer agony coursing through him. Chikashi merely smiled, then twinkling his fingers in a wave goodbye, he disappeared in thin air.

Everyone groaned at him getting away, but another anguished scream from their comrade brought them back to the crisis at hand, but when they looked over to where he lay, they noticed something was wrong. Jack had gotten…smaller.

Bunnymund hopped over, his nose twitching with apprehension, but when he reached the spot where the sprite had collapsed, he only found a wad of clothing. Reaching into the hoodie, the Pooka's eyes grew wide at what he found.

"Ohhh crikey."

"What?" Toothiana yelled "What is it?!"

Sand, North, and Tooth held their breaths as Bunny turned around holding something delicately in his arms, and all felt their jaws drop when they realized what it was. Jack had been turned into a small snowy white baby Pooka.

"Oh….my…." Tooth murmured in shock.

North bent down to look at the small bundle of fur "Is this what I think it is?"

"Yeah" Bunny nodded "Our snowflake got turned into a Pooka, and a baby one at that. Judging by his ears not standing up on their own and his eyes still being closed, he must be less than a week old. Meaning he is going to need special care just to survive."

"I could take care of him!" Tooth volunteered.

"Nah, Sheila" Bunny smiled gently "Not that I don't trust ya, but you're pretty busy and a baby bunny needs constant care."

"I could look after him" North shrugged.

"What, and risk him getting stepped on by a yeti, or experimented on by en elf? No, mate" Bunny declared sternly "I don't think the workshop is the right place for a Pooka, and babies need to stay warm, which would be difficult when you live at the North Pole."

Sand floated over and made an image with his sand of Baby Jack sleeping next to an egg, to which North nodded in exuberant agreement "I agree Sandy, is very good idea. Then it is settled."

"Wait, what?" Bunny asked in confusion "What's settled?"

"Jack will stay with you." North declared happily.

"WHOA! No…" the rabbit chuckled nervously "You can't be serious?!"

"Why wouldn't I be?" Father Christmas asked innocently "Like you say, Sandy and Tooth would be too busy to give baby Pooka the care it needs, and the workshop is too dangerous. So the best person to care for a baby Pooka, is a Pooka, no?"

Bunny looked down at the bundle in his arms just in time to see him yawn and snuggle his sensitive twitching nose deep into Aster's fur. It was in that second that something melted inside the large rabbit. Rolling his eyes and giving a groan of resignation the bunny finally relented.

"Fine" he said quietly "I'll take care of him. I'm the only person qualified to do so, so it might as well be me."

"Good!" North exclaimed happily "Now I will go back to Pole and look for a way to cure Jack, you take him back to warren, and I will contact you if I find anything."

Sandy waved goodbye before flying off in his plane, while Tooth merely gave a wide grin at the bunny before flying off herself. Watching as North took off in his sleigh through the snow globe portal, Bunny heaved a sigh at the cards fate had dealt him.

"All right snowflake" Bunny grumbled "Let's get ya home."

Swinging his pouch over his chest, Bunny put Jack into the impromptu sling, then tapping the ground to make a hole into the tunnels, Bunny hopped towards home.

….

"Aw come on Jack!" The Pooka exclaimed "Ya gotta eat mate!"

It had been an hour since they had arrived back at the warren, and Bunny had not wasted time taking his duties as surrogate parent to the new arrival very seriously. Seeing the blue tinge to his skin, and the way his stomach was sunken in, Aster knew that a bottle of warm milk was on the schedule. Now a Pooka is like a rabbit, except for the fact that it is much bigger. So a newborn Pooka was the size of a full grown rabbit, much like a human baby, except for the fact that it still needed the care required for a rabbit. And so this was why Aster currently found himself with a specially crafted baby bottle, holding Jack against him, trying to convince the tyke to eat his meal. Again and again, the rabbit teased the baby Pooka's mouth with the bottle, but he just would latch on!

"Look mate" Bunny said sternly "I don't know if you can understand me, but a baby bunny's gotta eat up to five times a day, and you are gonna take your milk whether you want to or not!"

Finally after what felt like hours of coaxing, the baby took the bottle in his teeth, and drank hungrily, leaving Aster a relieved mess.

Later that night, Aster placed Jack in a makeshift crib, muttering about stupid kids and their ideas of what makes a good joke. Walking to his side of the room, the rabbit was just about to get comfortable when a soft whine began to sound from the crib. It turned into what almost sounded like a whimper mixed with a hoot, which Aster knew to be what a rabbit sounds like when it is crying. Burying his face into his paws, he lifted himself off the soft grass of his nest, and walked over back to where he had placed Jack. Looking down into the box, the bunny shook his head in what he could not help but admit was amusement at the sight.

Jack had buried his nose into the corner of the wooden box, one little paw gently scratching the wood as he called out for his parent. Finally giving up on that, he hopped to the middle of the box, and crawled under the blanket, his cries growing louder as he searched for the soothing smell and warmth of the one caring for him.

Leaning his head down into box, Bunny nudged the little lump with his nose, chuckling as the white ball of fluff burst from the blanket and latched his little paws onto Bunny's said appendage. Jack touched noses with bunny over and over again ecstatically before rubbing his head against the Pooka's larger one. Aster couldn't help but feel a ball of emotion get lodged in his throat at the happy greeting. Touching noses was the way a rabbit said hello, and it had been so long since he had touched noses with another Pooka. Granted, this one was not a born Pooka, and would eventually return back to his original state, but that did not mean that aster appreciated the act any less. Reaching into the box, Bunny couldn't help but smile at what he knew was a sure sign he was going soft, and carried the baby over to his nest.

"All right ya little ankle biter" he said tenderly "If it means you won't cry, then ya can sleep with me."

Lying down, he let loose of the white bunny, and watched it fondly as it sniffed out a good place to sleep. Finally Jack crawled between Bunny's arms, and laid his head across the muscular bicep. Aster laid his head down, nuzzling the little bunny to let him know all was well, then fell asleep with a baby curled up against him.

…

The next morning came bright and early as Aster enjoyed the comforts of home, his face wreathed in a content smile as he snoozed on the soft green grass in his nest, but he was woken by a problem he had completely forgotten about. Little paws scrabbled on his fur as a desperate little nose touched his in an attempt to say good morning to the sleeping rabbit. Or more accurately, to say _"Its morning, I'm hungry, Now WAKE UP!"_

Bunnymund opened one bleary eye to look into two blue ones, and with a gasp, the large rabbit shot up into a sitting position as he took in the change that had taken place.

"Blimey!" Aster murmured in wonder "Looks like your eyes opened while I was sleepin', and look at ya ears, they're standing straight up!"

The little white head bobbed as it rubbed against one of Aster's paws, his little hooting cry ringing out as a sign of his hunger, and need to be cuddled. Bunnymund chuckled at the kit, and gently picked him up, cradling him just under his chin.

"A'right, a'right" he grumbled playfully "I'll get ya breakfast, just keep ya pants on."

Jack merely replied by bumping heads with his new surrogate father, nuzzling into his neck, and rubbing his face all up and down his chin. Aster laughed both from being ticklish and how the bunny just couldn't seem to get close enough.

"You're a snuggly one in the morning, ain't ya?" the Easter bunny smiled "Funny since you are so particular about personal space and all that."

As Bunny prepared the milk, a thought crossed his mind that he had never considered before, what if Jack really was a cuddly person? What if the tough, hellion act he put on for everyone really was just that, an act? Which meant that all this time, a child who craved physical touch, who needed hugs, and needed another person to hold his hand when he was scared; had been completely alone. Placing the bottle into the young bunny's mouth, Aster held him close, and allowed his mind to follow this particular thread of thought.

What effect could three hundred years of isolation have on a child like that, the rabbit wondered. A child who needed love and cuddles just to survive dad to day, what would that supreme state of loneliness do to said child? Then another thought struck him, one that turned his blood cold, would Jack have joined Pitch if they had never made him a guardian? He remembered the pain of not being seen, of people no longer believing and walking straight through him and so Aster could say with confidence that had they continued to ignore Jack, this child could very well have joined Pitch later down the road just to try and gain someone to care for him the way he needed. A stone settled in his stomach as Aster felt the heavy feeling of guilt settle on his shoulders. He should have been there for the little guy, should have known that just because he was a spirit did not mean he didn't need a father.

A small gasp came from the larger Pooka as he realized what he had just thought, but he pushed it away quickly. He had more than enough of deep thoughts and philosophical questions for that morning. It was summer, and Bunny was on vacation, which meant that Jack was getting a grand tour of the warren from a rabbit's point of view.

Tucking the baby back into his pouch, Aster took off through his underground paradise, bringing the former winter spirit to a large glade that had lots of sunshine and soft green grass to play in. Jack was let down carefully, and his nose twitched faster and faster as he took in the new environment. Tentatively, the white ball of fluff hopped forward, sniffing the air, and his little ears twisting at every sound. Finding everything to his liking, Jack bounced, and bounded, playing in his little nursery as if it were the world's best playground. Bunny laughed and leaned forward, pushing the little one to the ground with his nose.

Jack immediately responded by kicking Bunny square on the nose with his back foot, and the Pooka found himself laughing even harder. Getting down on all fours, Aster sent a wicked grin over to the tyke.

"Oh, so that's the way it's gonna be, eh mate?" the growled playfully "Well then, come on give me your best shot!"

Jack rolled off his back onto his feet and began chasing Bunnymund around the grass. Aster hopped and jumped, not running too fast, but keeping just out of reach. Laughter rang throughout the warren as Bunny ran from the former winter spirit, allowing himself to enjoy this game of tag with a fellow Pooka. They ran all over the warren, up hills and down near the tunnels, always with Jack right behind his feet. Finally the little ball slowed down and the Easter Bunny paused allowing the baby to finally catch him, the hooting whine creeping back up his throat as he stood on his back legs, front paw resting against Aster's leg. The rabbit sat down on the grass, panting as his face stretched wide from the happy grin currently decorating it.

"Ya hungry?"

A yawn broke through the little pink mouth, and he rubbed his head against the guardian of hope's leg. Bunnymund smiled, then bent down to pick up the child he was already growing so attached to. Feeling the tyke's stomach, he was pleased to see that their playing around had helped him digest breakfast, now he could have his early lunch, and lay down for a nice nap. Jack struggled to keep his blue eyes open as his little head lolled back and forth on Aster's shoulder. Finally, he was once again drinking his milk, and slowly drifting off into the deep sleep enjoyed by the truly innocent.

Bunny was just tucking him into the nest when he heard a soft knock at the door. Turning around, he saw Toothiana floating by the door, and waved her in. Tooth slowly floated over to the nest, her lavender eyes bright with the adorable scene in front of her. Leaning down, she gently brushed one ear with a fingertip, and barely held back the giggle that burst forth when the little ear twitched.

"He's so cute" she gushed quietly.

"Yeah…"

Tooth looked over at the bunny, and was pleasantly surprised to see him looking at their little Jack wit tender eyes full of pride, and even, love? "May I ask how things are going?" she asked softly "Because it looks like to me that you aren't having any problems."

That was the comment that snapped Bunny out of his stupor "Whoa, what?"

"It's just the way you were looking at him." Tooth shrugged.

"Bunny gave a nervous chuckle "And just HOW was I looking at him?"

"Like a father."

Tooth's answer was so simple, and yet it shattered his armor of denial with one swift kick. Bunny walked out of the room, his head buzzing and body numb as he walked to a chair and sat down. Tooth followed him, and placed her hand on one of his shoulders.

"I'm sorry Aster" she said softly "Did I say something wrong?"

"Nah Sheila" Bunny murmured absently "I just realized that you're right, and got a little shook up is all."

"Why would that bug you?"

"Because Tooth," the Pooka began "Just yesterday he was nothing more than the annoying little brother, but now…"

The fairy sat down next to him "Yes?"

"Now…" Bunny voice cracked as he finally faced a very raw truth that he never expect he'd have to face "Now I don't ever want to turn him back, I like having him here, like this, and I wish that I could just have him stay."

"Well," Tooth sighed "I guess my news from North will both be a blessing and curse then."

Bunny's head shot up "Yeah?"

Tooth nodded "According to Manny, Jack will turn back to his normal self in about a week, so until then you need to take care of him."

Relief sped through him while dread crept into his heart. Relief because he wanted to spend more time with Jack as a kit, but dread because if he was already so attached to the kid after barely twenty four hours, then how will he be after a week? Suddenly Bunny shook his head free of the negative thoughts and squared his shoulders. He didn't know what would happen after a week, but regardless of what might happen, Bunny knew he needed to care for Jack.

**Looks like this is going to be a two shot…*sigh* Oh well! I'm sure no one is unhappy about more Jack and Bunny family adorableness!**

**REVIEW!**


	9. Baby Jack 2

**WOW! ****I never knew I would get such a positive response to Baby Jack! Well here is part 2! And I hope you enjoy it!**

**Disclaimer….no for the umpteenth time, I do not own ROTG! Now Rack OFF!**

"Get back here ya little ripper!"

Jack had just woken up and finished his second lunch. Now he was playing his own variation of Hide and Seek with Bunny, and Tooth was having a blast watching their fun. She sat on one of the stone golems laughing at the multiple times Aster would find Jack's hiding spot, sneak up on his, then lunge with a loud 'BOO!' which would send the white bunny scurrying away in search of another hiding spot. Thus evolved new version of Hide and Seek with a small element of Tag mixed in. The fairy wondered at the smile that seemed to be permanently plastered on the Easter Bunny's face once the kit had woken up. He was having just as much fun as Jack, if not more so, with their game but Tooth needed to leave soon, and wanted to get in her cuddles before she head to fly away back to the palace.

Flying over the game players, Tooth rushed down to scoop up the little white kit "Gotcha!"

Aster smiled as he collapsed onto the grass, his chest heaving from the exertions of staying ahead of his kit "I gotta admit" he gasped "That dag is getting faster every time we play tag together."

Tooth giggled from where she sat, but mostly from the odd actions of the bunny in her arms. He kept trying to get at her face, and the fairy would lean her head back away from him, but Jack kept trying. Finally with a sigh and a laugh, the fairy turned to the Easter Bunny.

"Why does he keep wanting to get in my face?"

"Huh?" the Pooka's ear twitched as he turned his attention onto his friend "Oh, he's just trying to touch noses with ya, it's a bunny's way of sayin' hello."

"Oh!" Tooth giggled delightedly as she sat still in order to let the little bunny snuffle noses with her.

Once he was satisfied he had given a proper greeting, he settled with sitting on her shoulder, chattering his teeth. The fairy froze, and sent a grimace towards Aster. The larger Pooka laughed out loud at her expression, and rolled over so that he could talk to her directly.

"Don't look like that" he chuckled "that's normal, it's how a bunny purrs. He feels like he can trust ya, and likes being held like that."

Tooth wilted. She liked that fact that Jack felt safe in her arms, but she didn't like that he was chattering his teeth to show it. In order to distract herself from the sound, she turned back towards the guardian of Hope.

"So what other things do bunnies do that have a special meaning?"

"Well…" Aster used a hind paw to casually scratch at an itch behind his ear as he contemplated her question "Bunnies cry in a whining little hoot, Jack does it when he's hungry or lonely. They also squeak when they're scared or uncomfortable, and if they want to let another bunny know that they love them, then they run around in circles around that bunny. Bunnies lick too, but only when they really want to say that they love ya. Most animals lick for no reason, like dogs or cats, but Bunnies use licking as a form of communication, letting the other bunny know that they love 'em."

"Interesting" Tooth murmured "What about that one thing Jack does? Where he keeps rubbing his head against you?"

"Uh…." Tooth held back a giggle when she saw the inside of his ears turn red from a blush "that's called 'chinning', ya see a rabbit has a scent gland under their chin, and when they love something, they scrub their head all over that thing. So snowflake there… is just…uh…"

"Letting the whole world know that you are his Daddy and no one else can have you by marking you with his scent." Tooth finished.

Aster felt an even deeper blush burn the length of his ears, and he quickly ducked them behind his head. He had known what it meant from the first time the little snowflake had done it, but he had never said it out loud before. Now that it was out in the open, he had to admit, he really had started looking on the kit as a son. A thought he knew was problematic since Jack was not going to stay this way forever, but Aster missed having a family, missed having the company of another Pooka, and now that one had finally come into his warren he had allowed the tyke a piece of his heart that he never thought anyone would have, the spot that was reserved specifically for a kit.

Lying down on the grass Aster gave a melancholy sigh, things had gone from troublesome, to downright complicated. It had been so much easier when he just viewed Jack as the annoying little brother who had way too much time on his hands for pranks, but now he was starting to think of the winter spirit as his own kit, and that was dangerous. While Bunny sunk into an ever deeper depression over his current situation, a fluffy white head nudged the side of Aster's face, and then after a comforting nuzzle gave him a gentle lick. The blatant display of affection destroyed any thread of hope of maintaining his distance from the kid, and the bunny found himself grumbling aloud.

"That cutesy act ain't makin' things any easier for me ankle biter."

The only sign that Jack may have understood was him burrowing deeply into the Easter Bunny's neck, his teeth chattering in a purr of contentment. Tooth giggled at the sight, and how obvious it was that Bunny was losing this battle of keeping his emotions from acting like a father.

"Sorry Aster" she sighed happily "But it looks like, whether you want it or not, Jack chose you as his guardian."

Aster let loose a frustrated groan "Whoopee"

…..

A few hours later, the duo was once again alone as Toothiana had returned to the Tooth palace, and Bunny was taking care of giving Jack yet another bottle of milk. The small kit was chugging his dinner gratefully as Aster found himself once again chuckling at his ward.

"If you keep eating like that, mate I won't be able to call ya snowflake" the bunny laughed "I'll have to name ya snow_ball_."

Licking his lips, Jack signified that he was done with a little burp and sneeze, making the larger Pooka smile fondly before once again bringing him outside to play on the grass. Thus continued their day in a similar fashion that it had begun, games of Tag and Hide and Seek ranging all over the warren helped keep baby Jack entertained, and Bunny couldn't deny that he enjoyed it as well. Coming to a pause on top of a hill, Bunny lifted his head, and sniffed the air, his ears twitching as they listened for the tyke.

"Oi, snowball" Aster chuckled softly as his green eyes searched the area "where ya get off to?"

A rustling behind him alerted the large Pooka to Jack's presence, but he waited until the last second to turn around. Whirling to face his kit, Bunny barely had time to catch the baby as it jumped in an attempt to tackle him. Cuddling him close to his chest, Bunny allowed himself to fall backwards, and roll down the hill landing at its base in a laughing pile of fur and whiskers. Jack walked up Aster's chest on his little paws before cuddling into his surrogate father's neck, an action that Bunny responded to by softly stroking the small kit.

"I'm doomed" Aster sighed "and it's your entire fault, ya dag."

"Well isn't this touching?"

Aster shot up, one hand holding Jack, while the other held one of his boomerangs, his eyes narrowed at the figure standing before him, Chikashi.

"What do ya want?"

Chikashi shrugged "Just thought I would come to see how my little prank is working out. I thought you would be screaming your head off, or leaving little Jack to die, I did not expect to find the two of you snuggling on the grass."

"Well, the thing about making a prank based on rumors" Bunny smirked "Is that it has a bigger chance of backfiring."

"HA! Rumors?" the tricksters asked incredulously with one eyebrow raised "You ignored him for three hundred years, only stopping to acknowledge his existence by yelling at or insulting him. I have seen it for myself plenty of times, you two always fighting, or arguing. You hate each other, this is a fact."

"Have ya ever heard of a friendly rivalry ya bludger?" Aster growled, not wanting to admit that the accusation of his neglect for three centuries honestly stung "Besides, at least the snowflake is useful by keeping the winter months in check, what do you do?"

A sneer of hate twisted the trickster's features before it was quickly replaced by a smug smirk "You should be less concerned about me, rabbit, and more concerned about Jack."

The Pooka's eyes narrowed as he looked to the shoulder where he had been holding Jack only to gasp in shock to find that he was no longer holding a fluffy white kit, but a pillow shaped like an egg. That was when he heard it, a sound that made his blood turn to ice, and his heart stop beating; it was the sound of a baby bunny's scream.

The world seemed as if in slow motion as he once again looked up to Chikashi, only this time he was holding jack by the ears, and laughing at the Pooka's panic. Now the one thing you should not do with a rabbit is holding it by ears, a common misconception that has caused many poor bunnies to get injured by being held by a very tender spot, and when Aster saw his kit being held up in the air by the ears, a frightening change overtook the Pooka.

Bunny wasn't one to growl, yes he was still an animal, but out of consideration for his friends, he tried to tamp down his animalistic qualities. But at that moment, he couldn't have cared less, because a feral growl was creeping up his throat at the sight he was being forced to witness. His green eyes full of disdain, he put away his boomerang, and fell to all fours; his fur fluffing as his instincts told him to make himself look bigger as a show of dominance.

"You" Aster snarled with a snap of his teeth for emphasis "Put. Him. DOWN!"

Chikashi smirked at the rabbit and uttered one fateful sentence "You'll have to catch me first!"

Disappearing into a cloud of dust, Bunny waited, knowing that to lose his head and rush around looking for the trickster was like running right into the jaws of a fox. Raising his ears, the rabbit sampled the air, and listened to the breeze. Quietly tapping the ground, he dove into a hole, and burst up right behind the Trickster. Grabbing him by one shoulder, the rabbit spun him around, and then grabbed a fistful of his shirt. Drawing him close till they were almost touching noses, Bunny whispered maliciously;

"Never race a rabbit, mate."

Grabbing Jack from the trickster's arms, Bunny leapt into the air, delivering a powerful roundhouse kick that sent his enemy flying several feet. Running a shaking paw along Jack's ears, aster almost sobbed with relief when he saw that his kit was unharmed. Jack however was currently inconsolable. His hooting cry had kicked up a few octaves as he trembled in his surrogate father's arms, burying his face into the grey fur, he scrubbed his face into the shoulder of his protector.

"Oi, it a'right snowball" Aster murmured comfortingly "I got ya, I got ya."

Popping the kit back into his pouch, Aster ran towards the center of his warren, determined to find a safe spot for Jack. But time was running out, and Bunny knew that Chikashi had already recovered from the attack, and he needed to be on his guard NOW. Looking around, Bunny found a large tree with a small hole burrowed into the bottom. Taking his kit out of the pouch, Aster placed him on the ground and nudged the little bundle with his nose in encouragement to go into the hole.

"Stay here snowball" he said softly "I promise, I'll keep ya safe."

Standing up, and knowing that Jack was safe in the burrow, Aster was finally free to take out his boomerangs without fear of hurting his kit. Twirling them expertly in his paws, the Pooka threw a wicked grin at the trickster spirit whom had finally stepped out of the shadows to face Aster.

"A'right ya bludger" Bunny snarled as the fur on the back of his neck stood on end "How about I show you what happens when ya mess with a Pooka's family."

"But that's just it, though isn't it?" Chikashi spat "He ISN'T your family. Less than a year ago, he was a winter spirit that you despised for his immaturity and lack of control."

"Ya think I don't know that?" Aster snapped "Ya think I don't regret my actions in the past every time I see that kid's face? Because I do! But he is family now, and I'm going to spend the rest of eternity making sure that he knows that!"

"Oh please" the trickster scoffed "Your words mean nothing when your actions have quite proved otherwise, so unless you have a valid reason for why you're protecting him, I suggest you step aside and let me take the kid."

Limbs trembling with rage, both at himself for the way he had acted in the past, and at Chikashi for taking it upon himself to become an angel of retribution, the Pooka growled deep in his throat.

"Ya want a reason?" he snarled "fine, I'll give ya a reason."

Dropping his boomerangs, the bunny charged his opponent, angry ears flat against his head. Leaping from the ground, the bunny began to pummel the trickster, a blow for each reason he had to give.

"First!" Aster said with a jab to the spirit's stomach "I protect him because my duty as the guardian of Hope is to protect children, which includes Jack."

"Second" This time a punch across the jaw "I protect him because he is a fellow guardian and we never leave our comrades unprotected!"

"Third!" an uppercut to the chin "He chose me as his guardian, and you can believe that I take the responsibility seriously!"

"And my final reason," Leaping high into the air, Bunny slammed both back feet into Chikashi's chest, sending him crashing through several tree trunks "I protect him because he's my kit!"

Chikashi picked himself up, groaning as his world spun from the numerous injuries received at the hands of a very angry bunny. Knowing this battle to be a loss, he merely melted back into the shadows, and headed home to heal and recuperate. Bunny stood panting, his jaw still clenched with the anger still flowing through his system but finally calmed down enough to go check on Jack.

The little kit had fallen asleep during the battle, and lay curled up in the hole, his little nose buried between his paws. Picking up the baby, Bunny made his way back to the warren, with only the thought of a nice long nap on his mind.

…..

The week passed quickly, far too quickly for Aster's taste, but finally on the night of the sixth day, Bunny sat in the room he had prepared for Jack for when he was back in his original form. He sat in the nest he had made, playing with the kit, his happy smile laced with melancholy. Tonight, Jack would return to his original form, and snowball, as Aster had taken to calling him, would disappear. It was sad, but necessary, and the guardian of hope was determined to take it like a man…er…Pooka.

Jack hopped up and down, trying to catch Bunny's face between his paws, but finally settled with running in frantic circles around the rabbit. Aster gave a loud guffaw at the tyke's attempt to declare his affection for the surrogate father whom had cared for him the past week, and finally laid his head down to the kit's eye level. Jack immediately stopped running, and grabbed Aster's nose between his paws, alternating between touching noses and giving happy little licks. Heaving a sigh, Aster fell into the nightly routine that he had developed to help his kit fall asleep.

Taking one paw, he cuddled the baby close, and then began to softly wash his face with his tongue. Mother rabbits did this for their kits, it was a way to not only say 'I love you', but also made the kit sleepy from the comfort of their mother's steady licks. He had not allowed himself to be so true to his nature in such a long time, Bunny felt happy that he was able to do it, just this once. Gradually Jack yawned, his pink mouth stretching wide as bleary blue eyes blinked up at his guardian. Finally, with a small sigh, the kit laid down, snuggling his nose into Aster's cheek.

Bunny sat there, tears flowing from his eyes as he once again realized that this wonderful week had come to an end. Nuzzling the small kit, he sighed, and then slowly stood up. Placing Jack's clothes next to the nest, Bunny slowly walked out of the room, green eyes shining with grief.

….

"Hey Bunny!"

Aster paused and looked in the direction the voice had come from. It had been over a week since Jack had returned to his original state, and according to him, he did not remember anything from while he was a baby bunny, a fact that Aster was both relieved and disappointed to hear. But aside from his memory loss, no one could deny that he was acting unconsciously more friendly towards the large Pooka.

"Feel like a race cotton tail?" the winter spirit grinned.

"Ha!" Bunny laughed "Like you could beat me."

"First one out the front door and to your hole wins?" Jack asked nonchalantly.

"You're on!"

That was all it took. Within moments both had taken off through the workshop at the Pole, and were dodging Yetis as they tried to outrun the other. Bunny watched the winter spirit fly beside him, and could almost see a glimmer of his kit in the rascal, but that thought process was quickly shut down when he looked ahead and noticed a problem.

"Snowball!" he cried "Yeti!"

With shouts of dismay and surprise the both tried to stop their momentum and avoid the yeti, but only succeeded in crashing through a tower of toys, and into a wall. Aster sat up, groaning from his sore muscles, only to see Jack sitting against the wall holding his head. The rabbit quickly hopped over, his green eyes wide with worry.

"Ya ok snowball?"

"Yeah I'm fine, but man, that wall? Ouch!"

Jack rubbed his head, but must have his a particularly sore spot, because an odd hooting whimper came from his mouth. Clapping a hand over his lips, Jack stared into space as he pondered where that just came from. Bunny merely laughed, making plans to explain to him later what that was, and took winter spirit's head between two gentle paws.

"Well it looks like your cranium is fine." He chuckled gently "But I certainly wouldn't recommend running head first into any walls any time soon."

Jack laughed, and then nodded his agreement before standing up. "Ya wanna take this game outside? I got the weirdest itch to play Tag."

"Sure, why not" Aster smiled as he stood up. Yeah, his little ripper was still in there, the only thing that changed was his outside.

Hours of Tag later, Jack had finally crawled into bed in his room, his body still as he slept under the thin sheets. Bunny crept in, sneaking across the floor before hunkering down next to the bed, only his head resting on the mattress. For a while he watched the sleeping face and observed the golden sand depict an epic looking snowball battle, but then he felt another wave of sadness overtake him for the fact that Jack could not remember their time together as father and son. Leaning forward, he snuffled Jack's forehead, gently nudging it with his nose and giving a small lick.

Then a miracle happened. As Bunny watched, the dream morphed from snowballs, to the image of two rabbits. One large Pooka, and a smaller baby bunny. The two were chasing each other, stopping only every once in a while for the larger rabbit to allow the kit to tackle him to the ground, before once again continuing their game of Chase Hide and Seek. Tears welled up in the rabbit's eyes as a happy smile lit his face. True, Jack may not remember now, but he had their time together in his dreams, and that was more than enough for the guardian of Hope.

**Whoo! Ok, that took longer than I expected, but it was also shorter than I wanted. But please everyone, read and REVIEW! I will try to get back to work on both Broken and Bedtime Stories. I just thought you guys would appreciate this pointless piece of fluffiness!**


	10. Broken Part 4

**Hi everyone! Once again I have returned to Broken. I am going to try to tie it up within the next couple installments, and then I will work on Jack and Bunny switching bodies. Enjoy!**

**Midnight Lupus: I will try to revisit it later, though how would you like me to? Have Jack turned back into snowball, only a teenage version and he can remember his experience this time?**

**Rizreviewer: I will consider that, maybe do something where Jack turns back somehow. As you see in my previous reply, I am already doing thought processes about continuing this in a proper story.**

**KT1001: Thank you for the advice, and I appreciate your honesty. I understand that chapter one was not the best, but please cut me some slack as it was written when I was extremely stressed out and needed something to help me unwind, also it wasn't like ROTG because I had not seen the movie when I wrote it. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Rise of the Guardians…**

Jack took a deep breath, his entire focus on the bars in front of him, and then slowly began to shuffle forward. His arms shook as he held his body up, and forced his feet to move inch by inch across the padded floor. Looking up, the boy sent a shaky smile at the Pooka standing just in front of him, ready to catch him should his arms or legs give out. Bunny gave the winter spirit his own bright smile before beckoning him forward once again in a gentle tone.

"Come on Jackie" he coaxed softly "Just a little further, you can do it!"

Jack nodded, but when he went back to focusing on walking down the bars, he felt his stomach begin to roil with nausea, and the bars on either side of him began to sway and wiggle going in and out of focus. Giving a heavy swallow, the boy closed his eyes, and sucked in a long breath through his nose, but that did not stop the stars from dancing in his vision when he opened them again. Finally with a small groan, Jack felt his trembling grip loosen and he tumbled towards the floor, but was caught by soft paws as they gently cradled his exhausted frame.

"I got ya" Bunny grunted as he stood up with the child in his arms "Don't worry, ya'll get down these bars eventually, and you even broke last week's record by a foot!"

The winter spirit punched the air with a sarcastic fist "Whoopee for me." He grumbled good naturedly.

Bunny let out a robust laugh "Well hey, at least you can wiggle your toes!"

Jack sent a broad grin up at his friend as the Pooka carried him back to his room, then wiggled his toes as a confirmation of said miracle. He could still remember quite clearly the day he realized he had gotten the feeling back in his legs.

_Jack had been sitting alone on his bed in his room eating his lunch and gazing out the window when he had gotten an odd sensation running from his back injury, slowly spreading towards his legs. It felt like a burn, not painful, just warm and it was trickling into his thighs. Eyes narrowed with confusion, the boy set down his sandwich and threw back the covers off of his legs. He was sure that he wasn't imagining it, but at the same time, a heavy rope of fear lay coiled and knotted in his stomach. _

_Biting his bottom lip, Jack focused all his energy on one thing…his toes._

_At first nothing happened, and the winter sprite once again sighed in frustration and despair, but as the warm feeling traveled to his knees, a thought struck him. What if he couldn't move his toes because he hadn't technically gotten that warm sensation there yet? It was worth a try. And so Jack had sat there, his lunch completely forgotten, his crystal blue eyes never leaving his legs and feet as he waited for that unfamiliar burn to work its way to his toes. Ten minutes, twenty minutes, half an hour and finally it was done._

_Swallowing in apprehension, Jack couldn't help but close his eyes as his brain gave the command to wiggle his toes. Of course that action only led to him mentally slapping himself, because how would he know if he wiggled his toes if he didn't look? So the winter spirit squared his shoulders, and opened his eyes, once again trying to achieve what was only recently the impossible._

_At first, there was nothing; and then, a twitch. Soon was gawping at his foot as he slowly but surely flexed his toes. Turning to his other foot, he did the same exercise until he was not only moving his toes, but he was rolling his ankles, and with some effort slowly bending his knees. Tears flowed down his cheeks in multiple currents as he watched the miracle unfold before finally turning his head towards his bedroom door. Taking a deep breath, Jack screamed at the top of his lungs;_

"_BUNNY!"_

_The Pooka had been sitting at the large table with North drinking hot chocolate and playing a card game by the name of Canasta when the scream had penetrated the rare silence of the workshop. When Bunny had heard his name being shrieked in such a frantic urgent tone of voice, he had spit out all the hot chocolate in his mouth, and almost fell off his chair. Without so much as a second glance, the rabbit had gotten to his feet and done what rabbits are best at… He ran._

"_What's wrong Jack?!"_

_Now there was an entire list of things that Bunny had expected to see, what with the frightening mode of summoning him to the room of the winter spirit. Blood had been on the list, Jack crumpled on the floor in agony was another, and even Pitch had made it on the list; but the one thing Bunny did not count on was seeing Jack perfectly safe in his bed, laughing his head off._

"_What?" the Pooka asked in shock his arms swinging uselessly at his sides as his shoulders deflated from their previously action ready pose "What is wrong with ya?"_

"_Bunny!" Jack exclaimed grinning through the tears coursing down his face "You've gotta see!"_

"_Oh I see, mate" The guardian of Hope sighed "I see a snowflake that's off his rocker, sitting in bed grinning and laughing like a loon, and scaring my poor ticker to the point of death over nothing, THAT'S what I see!"_

"_No!" Jack yelled undaunted by Bunny's temper "Just look, it isn't nothing!"_

_Following Jack's ecstatically pointing finger, the rabbit's green eyes went from narrow with frustration, to wide as dish plates with shock; because there he was flexing his toes, and rolling his ankles. Bending down, the rabbit pointed out his right big toe._

"_Move that one mate."_

_Jack complied, a delighted giggle bursting from his lips when the appendage moved. Bunny grabbed it, and squeezed gently._

"_Ya feel that?" he asked excitedly._

"_Y-yeah!" Jack spluttered, his tears streaming down his face even faster "I feel it!"_

"_By Manny" Bunnymund murmured before repeating it, this time in a joyous whoop accompanied by an ecstatic leap "BY MANNY!"_

_Jack's hand were on his head, his fingers grabbing his white hair as he sobbed with both relief and indescribable joy at the miracle. Bunnymund didn't waste any time in grabbing the boy, and slinging him across his back. Jack held onto the Pooka around his neck, not taking for granted the fact that he could finally grip Bunny by wrapping his legs around the large rabbit's rib cage. Bounding down the stairs, Aster carried Jack to the table where the other guardians were gathered, and plopped Jack into one of the chairs._

"_Show 'em Jackie!"_

_Once again the winter spirit flexed his toes, and moved his feet up and down. Like Bunny, the other's had to watch for a few seconds before the thought finally sunk in as reality. North replied in his typical fashion by jumping to his feet and giving a long loud laugh of unbridled joy. Toothiana had practically tackled the boy, excitedly babbling about how proud she was of him and his toes. Sandy shot up into the air, making his dream sand explode all around the workshop as he gave a visual demonstration of his happiness over the discovery. _

"_Come!" North bellowed "We have party!"_

"_Yes! A party" Tooth cheered._

_Soon all were laughing and shouting over the Winter spirit's recovery as they partied late into the night._

Now after a full month of strength building exercises, Jack was making progress walking up and down the parallel bars. His record was currently 6 feet, and he was determined to make it the full twelve. Bunny had been with him the entire time, and honestly Jack would have been surprised if he had not been. With his coaching, and help, the winter spirit was making huge strides in his healing process.

"Yeah" Jack agreed, once again moving his toes up and down with a self satisfied smile "I can, and it finally feels like things are going to get better."

"You bet they are!" Bunny enthused "Pretty soon you will be running around this place and causing trouble just like you did before ya got hurt."

….

**Four months later…**

"Come on Cotton tail, you gotta keep up!"

Bunny raced across the frozen tundra, his paws flying over the snow with every stride. Above him was the winter spirit who was currently chucking snow balls at him in an attempt to make him run faster. This was their new morning routine that had replaced their usual physical therapy session. Bunny had developed it in the hopes that he would get the boy up to snuff when it came to his battle skills, but in all reality, flying for the kid was like riding a bike, and he would never forget how to soar no matter how long he had been grounded. Right now they were having a fake sparring session, it being considered fake for the reason that Bunny was stuck on the ground, and Jack stayed in the air just out of his reach pelting the Pooka with his favored weapon of choice. But this was still a training session, and the rules stated that if Jack got hit by any of the rabbit's exploding eggs(which were packed with multicolored paint), then he had to do extra leg exercises in addition to the ones he already did every night before bed.

Bunny smirked as he reached into his pouch. Any moment the kid would slow down to focus on creating a snowball in the palm of his hand, and that was a habit that needed to be trained out of him. Sure enough, Jack slowed as his attention was focused solely on his hand, and right at that moment was when Bunny struck by throwing three eggs at the stalled figure hanging in the sky.

Ducking behind a large snow bank, Bunny cracked up laughing at the tell tale squawk of indignation that came from the winter spirit as the eggs exploded around him. Peeking over the snow, the Pooka counted three multicolored splotches decorating the spirit's clothing, and gave a happy chuckle.

"Too bad snowflake!" Bunny guffawed "Looks like you're running laps in the gym, walking up and down the stairs, and doing an extra rep of weight lifting tonight."

"AW MAN!"

The Pooka doubled over as chortles shook his frame, then walked out from behind the snow bank. Dropping his pouch onto the tundra, he stretched his paws high over his head until his back gave a satisfying pop.

"Let's stop while you're ahead frostbite." He groaned "I think I'm ready to head inside and warm my feet by the fire."

"Ok" Jack nodded before he flew down and stood next to his friend.

Bunny found himself staring at the kid, his keen gaze searching for any sign of pain or fatigue, but was relieved when he found none. Slinging one arm around the kid's shoulder, they walked in companionable silence towards the castle. Jack looked up at the Pooka, his face decorated with a content and happy smile. Things had finally settled down and returned to normal. It felt so good to be back on his feet and be able to move around with being in pain. Giving a satisfied sigh, the boy leaned his head into the rabbit's side and allowed the guardian of hope to guide him towards the workshop. Oh yes, things were definitely looking up.

**Wow…I thought I would have to make another installment, but I am so happy I was able to tie things up with an even 4 chapters for Broken. Next I am not sure whether to write the switching bodies chapter, or another installment of Bedtime Stories. **

**What do you guys think?**


	11. When Tornados hit

**I do not own ROTG…**

**Here is a little something I thought up when I was on my own and thinking about ROTG…yes, you get many wonderful ideas while sitting on a plane for thirteen hours with nothing to do except dream, so here I go!**

Many know that tornados are caused by the collision of hot and cold air swirling around until a raging vortex is created, but few know the true story of what happens when a tornado hits.

Bunny ran through the forest at top speed, his ears flying behind him like a banner as he determinedly made his way down the mountainside towards the village of Burgess. He had been in his warren when one of his sentinel eggs had informed him of a large scale tornado touching down fifty miles south the winter spirit's lake, and that was when the Easter bunny knew that something was up.

Now he knew that tornados were a thing of nature, and they happened without provocation, but he also remembered from personal experience that there was another side to the coin. His eyes narrow with worry, Bunny allowed his mind to wander back to that day as his feet flew over the ground dusted by a light spring snow, back to the day when Bunny learned a very unfortunate truth.

….

_It had been roughly over a year since the defeat of Pitch, and Bunny was busy hiding eggs on Easter. Worry was gnawing away at his stomach, but for a reason the Pooka couldn't quite place. A huge tornado had struck just the day before, and an entire city had been reduced to shambles. Luckily there were no casualties, there had been more than a few injuries, but they were not the kind sustained from enduring a tornado. That was a little fact Aster found odd, but filed it into the back of his brain to be thought about at a later date. For now it was hard for the rabbit to deliver eggs to other places around the world when he knew that that particular city was the one that needed Hope the most, but still he had a job to do, and that city would have to wait until he got there on his designated route._

_That would be a choice he would come to regret…_

_Finally he arrived at the site where the force of nature had caused so much destruction. The Pooka's heart sank as he looked on the ruins of what used to be a bustling city. Fingering his basket full of eggs, he knew that to hide them here would be redundant of his cause, and so he needed to go find where they had moved the refugees in order to spread a little hope. Taking off down the abandoned central plaza, Bunny looked around, etching the sight into his mind so that he could sketch it onto paper later. Maybe it seemed strange, but he would frequently paint and sketch things that caused him sadness. Somehow seeing those pictures always gave him more motivation to do his job, and to do it right._

_Bunny was halfway through town when his ears pricked at a small mewling coming from his right. It sounded like a child was crying. Hoping that a child hadn't been left behind, Aster sought out the sound, his keen sense of hearing tracking down the source with military precision. Finally he came to a pile of debris, steel and wood piled on top of each other in almost a monument of the tragedy that had occurred, but what caught Bunny's attention was what was sticking out from under it. A foot, and not just any foot, for Aster would know that overly pale bare appendage anywhere, it was Jack Frost's. His heart clenched in fear and worry, The Pooka all but threw the basket down onto the ground, and launched himself at the pile, his paws furiously digging his comrade out. _

"_Don't worry Jackie" Bunny panted "I'm coming for ya, mate."_

_Finally reaching the bottom, the Pooka grimaced at the sight, his throat constricting at the damage done to the young guardian. He lay on the ground, looking all the world like a broken porcelain doll covered in numerous cuts and gashes, one leg was bent at an awkward angle and blood flowed from a head injury, but the worst of them was the twisted piece of metal sticking out of his side just below his rib cage. The boy labored to bring air into his lungs in wheezing gasps, but each breath only shifted the metal, causing a pained whimper to slip from his lips. _

_Bunny knelt down next to the thin form, and gently gathered him into his arms, but the motion only caused Jack to snap into consciousness with a pained cry._

"_B-Bunny?" He slurred with unfocused eyes._

"_Yeah" Bunny whispered comfortingly "It's me mate, don't worry, we're gonna get ya fixed up."_

"_I…" the winter spirit gasped his face a grimace of pain "I c-can't b-b-breathe…..H-hurts…"_

"_I know" Bunny continued as he struggled to keep his face calm and serene so not to frighten the boy any further "but ol' Bunny is gonna get you back to the warren, and make ya right as rain."_

_Jack tried to give a weak smile up at the Pooka, but another wave of agony crashed through his trembling frame, causing a pained sob to rip its way up his throat. Bunny watched in horror as the boy gave a violent shudder before his eyes rolled back into his head and he fell unconscious. Now was the hard part, he still had places to visit, but Jack needed medical attention now. If he took him to the warren then he would lose a chunk of believers, but if he finished his rounds, then Jack could die. Aster gave a furious shake of the head, why was he even debating this? He could win back his believers next year, but Jack's life hung in the balance and that was one thing that could not be replaced._

_Tapping the ground, the rabbit lifted the winter spirit into his arms as gently as possible before making what was going to be the longest trip back to the warren that he had ever taken. After what felt like an eternity, the Pooka made it into his home, and laid the child into his nest carefully. Looking down, the rabbit grimaced at the wound weeping blood and staining the normally frost covered hoodie. As much as upset as he knew Jack will be about the loss of his favorite shirt, there was nothing he could do. He had to cut it off in order to treat the wound, and make sure that no bits of fabric got caught within the injury. Grabbing a pair of scissors, Bunny began tearing at the material, being as gentle as possible as he cut away the shirt from Jack's body._

_Now came the hard part…_

_He knew it was impossible to treat the wound without removing the chunk of metal sticking out of his side, but the tricky thing was that if he removed it, there was a huge chance of a major artery being torn, or an organ being damaged. Taking a steadying breath, Bunny grabbed the metal with paw, and placed the other on Jack's side. An agonized whimper escaped the unconscious boy's lips, and Aster winced at the sound knowing that things were about to get worse…way worse._

"_I'm so sorry mate." The Pooka whispered with grief filled eyes._

_Turning back to the injury, Aster heaved a sigh at what he had to do, counted to three, then pulled. Jack's crystal blue eyes flew open as a shriek of pain reverberated throughout the room. Aster threw down the piece of metal, and grabbed a soft towel, pressing it against the boy's side to staunch the waterfall of blood pouring from the gaping wound. Jack clawed at the sides of the nest, sobs wracking his thin frame as his mind reeled from the sheer amount of agony assaulting his senses. Gritting his teeth and clenching his eyes shut, the winter spirit tensed his entire body as a long groan mixed with a pained whimper floated up towards his caretaker._

_Bunny paused in his work long enough to take one bloodstained paw and run it through Jack's silvery white hair. "It's ok ankle bita" he murmured in as comforting a voice as he could manage "The worst of it is over, you're gonna be fine!"_

"_M-make it s-s-stop…" Jack wept "The pain…m-make it stop!"_

"_That's the plan Jackie" Aster consoled "That's the plan."_

_Keeping a paw pressed firmly on the towel, Bunny used his other paw to rummage around his medical kit in search of a needle and thread, every few seconds murmuring to the boy lying in the nest in a calming tone. Tears streamed from unfocused eyes as Jack lay there, his body suddenly shivering from shock and blood loss, a fact that Bunny did not overlook. _

"_Hey Jack" Aster asked in what he hoped was a normal tone of voice "what were you doing in the middle of a tornado?"_

"_I's my fault" Jack slurred._

"_Huh?" The Pooka paused, giving Jack a look of confused worry "What do you mean it was your fault?"_

"_The tornado…" the winter spirit replied, working to make his voice stronger "It was my fault, it is because of me that it happened."_

_Bunny felt shock numb his skin, and burn in his stomach "That can't be true" he sputtered "You may like to play some ridiculous pranks, but I doubt you would start a tornado and destroy a city just because you felt like it, besides, I don't think you can even make a tornado. A snow storm sure, but a tornado?"_

"_Had help…"_

_Jack's eyes grew dim, and soon he drifted off back into the realm of the unconscious, leaving Bunny very confused, and unsure._

…_._

_For the next few days, Jack drifted in and out of fevered sleep, but soon his temperature went down, and Bunny was confident that the child would make a full recovery. He had cared the child, and changed the bandages frequently, ensuring his survival; but that did not stop his mind from reeling as he puzzled over Jack's last whispered words before he sank into a dreamless sleep. Was he really responsible for the tornado? And if he was, why would he cause such pain and devastation? The Pooka anxiously awaited the winter spirit to wake up, he wanted answers, and he prayed that they were not ones that could jeopardize Jack's position as a guardian._

_Five days after the initial incident, Jack finally opened his eyes. The winter spirit narrowed his eyes as he struggled to remember where he was and what had happened to him. He didn't know why, but his body felt like it weighed ten tons, and it was still hard to breathe. Raising his head off the pillow, Jack was surprised to find his body swathed in bandages and his leg encased in a plaster cast. Opening his mouth, he struggled to call out, but his dry vocal chords restrained him from doing so._

_With a cough and a swallow, he tried one more time, giving a weak croak "H-hello?"_

_Multiple bangs and crashed sounded outside the door, and then suddenly a very surprised bunny came barreling through. Seeing the conscious state of his impromptu patient, the Pooka allowed a large grin to split his features. _

"_How ya feeling?"_

"_Thirsty" Jack answered in a gravelly tone "and heavy."_

"_That would be because of all the pain killers I pumped into ya while you were sleepin'" Bunny replied with a smile and fond shake of his head. _

_Grabbing a glass of water, the rabbit filled it halfway before taking one paw and lifting Jack's shoulders slightly off the nest and bringing the glass to his lips. Jack hissed in pain, but quickly smiled when he saw Bunny's ears go back guiltily. With one weak pale hand, he also held the glass and drank gratefully, before finally laying back down on the bed._

"_I don't know how I got here," the sprite said softly "but thanks."_

"_I found you half dead in the middle of ground zero of an F-3 tornado" Bunny said with a small smile "What was I supposed to do, leave ya there?"_

"_You could have." The spirit shrugged, but quickly regretted the action with a wince._

"_Well I didn't" Aster replied with a stubborn nod "Now, since we are on that subject, what were you doing there in the first place?"_

_Jack's blue eyes widened in panic as he looked down and around, trying to avoid the stern rabbit's gaze, but Aster wasn't having any of it. _

"_Jack" he said firmly "You told me it was your fault."_

"_Y-yeah…" the sprite replied weakly, fingers playing with a stray thread on his pants as he considered what his answer should be._

"_Why would it be your fault?" the Pooka pressed._

_For a while, Jack said nothing just kept looking down and biting his bottom lip in indecision, and Bunny heaved a long sigh._

"_Look snowflake" he said in his most comforting tone "I am willing to hear your side of it, but I need to know what happened."_

"_Um…" Jack throat constricted as he prepared to divulge what he had hoped to keep a secret "The spirits of Spring and Summer…they… well…. Let's just say that we don't get along."_

"_Do they bully ya?"_

"_NO!" Jack practically bellowed before one hand went to hold his side, and his face twisted into a grimace of pain._

"_Then what?" Aster asked exasperatedly._

"_They…" Jack let out a frustrated groan before finally mumbling "They like to gang up on me."_

"_They…what!?"_

_Jack glared at the Pooka "I know you heard it the first time, cotton tail, don't make me say it again."_

_Aster glared right back "Well you're gonna have ta, because I need just a bit more clarification before I understand just what you're sayin!"_

_Jack growled into the palms of his hands as he scrubbed his face in aggravated strokes "Look" he finally sighed "Every spring around Easter and every year around September and October, Spring and Summer like to seek me out and pick a fight, and every time they do our temperatures clash and we create a tornado."_

"_Why?" asked Bunny his face stunned._

"_I don't know" Jack replied with a snarky tinge to his voice "I could name a bunch of reasons, because they're bullies, because they're thrill seekers, because they're ignorant jerks with no comprehension of what it could mean should a spirit of winter, and two spirits of warm seasons get into a fight."_

"_And they do this every year?"_

"_Yes" Jack affirmed miserably._

"_And…" Bunny gulped with apprehension "Do you get into this bad of shape every year?"_

"_No…" the winter spirit started slowly "Normally it's just a few scrapes, a gash here and there, and sometimes usually a broken bone accompanied by more than a few bruises, but this year… This year they picked a fight, right over a city, and in my attempt to protect the children I only managed to make it worse."_

_A palpable wave of despair enveloped the child, and Bunny suddenly noticed Jack's eyes fill with tears, and his chin begin to quiver._

"_It's all my fault" he said in a broken sob "I tried to keep them safe, and all I did was destroy their home. I'm a pathetic excuse for a guardian, because I couldn't even control my powers enough to keep the children in that city safe by not causing a tornado."_

_Without a second thought, Bunny dove forward, and wrapped the young guardian in a warm hug just as the spirit of winter melted into waves of grieved tears._

"_It's all my fault!" Jack wept._

"_Nah" Bunny consoled "It isn't, and don't you keep telling yourself that neither. You were doing your job, and they were the ones that picked a fight with ya, not the other way around."_

"_But it's my job to protect the kids!" Jack yelled into Bunny's chest, his eyes clenched shut in shame of his weakness and powerlessness to stop the horrible twister from destroying the city._

"_And you did that!" Bunny said forcefully "Yeah, the tornado wrecked the town, but if I'm right, and I think I am, you held it back long enough for everyone to escape. There were no casualties Jackie, no one died, and that is a victory in my book."_

"_But people still got hurt…" the sprite sniffed._

"_Yeah" Bunny chuckled "A few people twisted their ankles from running away, that's it."_

_Suddenly large blue eyes looked up into the Pooka's face "Really" he hiccupped "No one got hurt because of me?"_

"_Not on your nelly" the rabbit replied proudly "In fact, that whole city owes their lives to ya."_

_This statement only brought on a fresh wave of tears, which Bunny was content to hold the winter spirit through until he gained his composure. After about five or so minutes, the teenager finally straitened up and wiped his eyes. _

"_Thanks Bunny" he said in a voice raw from crying._

"_No problem snowflake" The rabbit ruffled the boy's head fondly with one paw._

_Suddenly Jack's face turned grim "What do I do when fall comes and I have to do my job again?"_

_Bunny sat back and pondered that one for a few minutes before answering "Ya know what you should do?" he said as a sly smile lit his face "I think you should seek them out."_

"_WHAT?" Jack exclaimed "Wouldn't the point of this be not causing another tornado like the last one?"_

"_Just listen to me" Bunny said as he held up a paw signaling the snow sprite to be patient "What I'm saying is, find a nice isolated spot in the world where a tornado wouldn't make a lick of difference, and then wait till those blighters find ya. When they do, use all the power at your disposal, and wail on them like no tomorra. Ya got that?"_

_Jack merely replied with a grin, oh yeah, he got it… _

….

Now, a full season later, Bunny raced towards the site of the latest tornado. According to the sentinel eggs this one had been worse than the last one, by at least twice, and the rabbit worried on whether Jack had actually taken his advice. At that thought, the Pooka kicked himself for giving a child advice meant for a warrior.

"What was I thinking?" Bunny murmured as his stomach clenched in worry.

Finally the rabbit caught Jack's scent, and with renewed vigor, pushed himself even faster towards the snow sprite's location. Flying over hill, meadow, and glade, Aster finally came to a screeching stop outside of a cave. His sensitive nose twitching with anxiety, the rabbit hopped inside, only to find Jack sitting on a rock, with a wide grin splitting his face. He looked pretty bad, not as bad as last time thank the heavens, but he was sporting a black eye, a bloody lip, and more than a few burns and bruises.

"Well" Bunny began, his voice gruff and stern "I hear about a tornado crashing through the forest, and I find you grinning like an idiot in a cave, beat to a bloody pulp, so what do you have to say for yourself?"

Jack grinned "I won."

**Sorry I lied about doing Bedtime Stories next, but this story hit my brain, and I had to write it before it left.**


	12. Pooka Jack Part 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own ROTG…so there…**

If you were to ask any of the Easter Bunny's friends what they thought of the Pooka, more than usually you would the get answer that he was loyal, stubborn, short tempered, antisocial, but he also had a big heart that had a supremely soft spot for children and anything he deemed adorable. Amongst those who knew him, they would say that he probably didn't have many friends due to his cautious nature on whom he allowed into his life, but one thing that not many knew was that Aster had a best friend whom he enjoyed having frequent lunch dates with. Who was it you ask?

Mother Nature…

Mother Nature had a soft spot for the Pooka, mostly because he protected and represented her favorite season. Spring was a time of new beginnings, where flowers bloomed, and the trees dressed in their best while the meadows put on a show for any passerby willing to stop and look; it was truly a time of wonder and beauty. And so the spirit often found herself stopping by the warren in order to enjoy one of Bunny's homemade teas, or just eat a cucumber sandwich, which was always accompanied by talking.

Their conversations could be as light as discussing egg designs based on the colors presented that spring, or go as deep as baring their souls and discussing the things that they kept hidden from everyone else due to their reputation. Today was just such a day where Mother Nature came for a visit, and within moments had ascertained that there was something very wrong with her best friend.

"Bunny?" Mother Nature said in a voice laced with concern as she sat down at the table in the kitchen "What is wrong?"

"Huh?" Aster's ears twitched in a way he knew betrayed his attempt to fool the spirit with nonchalance "what do you mean?"

Mother Nature, or Rhiannon as her friends knew her, merely smiled in fond tolerance of the Pooka's tough façade "Well for one thing you haven't stopped sighing the entire time I've been here, and for another you keep staring off into space or out the window, which only makes you sigh again."

Bunny heaved yet another sigh, and ran a paw over his ears "Can't hide anything from you for long, can I?" he asked sheepishly.

Rhiannon smiled as she watched her friend set down two steaming tea cups, and after Aster had sat down, she took one of his paws in her hands "No old friend" she said with a smile "You cannot hide anything from someone who has known you as long as I, now to use a modern colloquialism, 'Spill it'."

"Ah Rhia…" Bunny sighed "I'm sure you know about the prank that Chikashi played on us about a month back?"

Mother Nature nodded "Yes, I believe he turned your newest guardian into a baby Pooka."

"Yeah…"

Rhiannon watched her friend, her keen eyes taking in every detail as he buried his face into one paw, his ears drooping sadly as he heaved yet another huge sigh. "Bunny," she smiled "I'm not trying to be insensitive, but this is getting ridiculous. Tell me what is bothering you, and no more beating around the bush!"

"I just miss having the kit around!" Bunny finally blurted.

"The…kit?" Mother Nature asked in an amused tone.

"I meant Kid!" Aster backpedaled, his ears plastered to the back of his head in indignant, albeit weak, correction.

"Sure you did" Rhiannon chuckled softly "So according to what I have heard, you were the one who took care of him, correct?"

"…Yes…" Bunny admitted grudgingly.

"So would I be right in assuming that you are struggling with the paternal feelings you have developed for your comrade?"

Bunny stayed silent, his troubled green eyes staring into the depths of his tea as if somehow the murky liquid held the key to all his problems. Mother Nature sighed as she gazed at the distressed form of her dearest friend. His ears were down, and his eyes were dull. He looked miserable, and probably hadn't even been eating due to the evidence of his coat lacking its gloss, and his waist seeming even slimmer than normal. Standing up, the ancient spirit stepped behind the unhappy Pooka and wrapped her arms around him in a comforting hug.

"It is not a bad thing to care for another person" she said softly "especially when that other person needs a father as much as Jack does. He may be three hundred and sixteen years old, but that does not disqualify him from needing a parent. He is trapped in both the mind and the body of a child for all eternity, and whether he or anyone else is willing to acknowledge it, he is definitely in need of an adult who will volunteer to step in as the father figure that all teenage boys need."

"But" Aster's voice cracked, causing him to clear his throat before continuing "He doesn't even remember our time together, he thinks I'm just another member of the team, and there is no way he would accept me as a father figure."

"He already respects you" Rhiannon replied with a smile quirking one side of her mouth "and whether you know it or not, those pranks are his way of testing you, because he knows that out of everyone, you are the one most likely to set boundaries. Children will never willingly admit it, but they crave boundaries, and rules, and fences because it makes them feel safe, like someone actually cares about their welfare enough to keep them accountable. Sure they will complain, and maybe even throw a tantrum, but in the end they are happy that there is someone who loves them enough not to let them live a life alone doing whatever they want. Jack feels that from you, and that is why he is drawn to you. He may subconsciously already view you as a parental figure."

Bunny bowed his head as sorrow washed over him, and Rhiannon fell silent, knowing that she had said what she could; now she could only let him think on her words.

Later that night, Aster walked into one of the many rooms in the sleeping quarters of his warren. It had been one that he had made for Jack while the spirit was still trapped in the body of Snowball. He had gone all out with the painting and decorating, but since the little guy left, he hadn't stepped even one paw inside that room since. Overhead a beautiful night sky had been painted in shockingly realistic grandeur, while all around, Bunny had furnished the room with furniture he had carved from a mahogany wood that was a deep dark red and glossed so bright, it shined like a ruby. The nest had been lined with white feathers and lush green grass that would never die or wither. But the centerpiece in the room had been something that Bunny had created out of a moment that he readily admitted to be pure insanity.

Hanging up in one corner of the room, was Jack's very own Pooka armor. It had wrist gauntlets that matched Bunny's except instead of a topaz jewel in the middle of the leather, it had a bright sapphire with a stunning star in the middle, and the outer edge of the leather gauntlet was decorated in silver studs. Bunny had even gone so far as creating special leg guards as a personal joke considering Jack didn't like shoes. But the thing he was most proud of was the leather holster he had created for Jack's staff. It was much like his pouch in that it was slung across his chest, but he had studied the shepherd's crook during that week with Snowball, and was able to design a functional pocket that would keep his staff across his back so he could run with it not getting in his way as a rabbit.

Who knows why he had made the ensemble, Bunny had rationalized it as his way of being on the safe side should the spell not eventually wear off, but after his talk with Mother Nature, Aster knew it to be a reason that ran much deeper than just mere rationalization. He enjoyed being a father, and somewhere in his heart, he actually wished that it would stay that way. Walking over to the reminder of all he had dared hope for during that fateful week, the Pooka felt a large ball of emotion get lodged in his throat. His paw gently caressed each piece of armor, each detail had been lovingly crafted for his baby, every moment spent making the armor was used imagining what he would look like in it as a grown Pooka, and as the material gained shape beneath genius paws used to crafting works of art Aster could honestly say he had poured himself, heart and soul into the delicate buckles, and designs burned into the leather.

With a broken sob, the rabbit sat on the floor in front of his creation, one part of his brain berating him for his weakness, the other part crying out for just one more day with a fellow Pooka, someone who looked and smelled like him, a family. Tears made dark wet tracks on the bunny's grey fur as he struggled to control the unbearable sobs wrenching from his heart and crawling up his throat. Looking up through the window he had installed in Jack's room, Bunny gazed at the moon with misery filled eyes.

"Look Manny" he said softly his voice gravelly with the effort it took not to crawl into a ball and weep "I know I haven't been the best guardian, and I haven't been as much of a team player that I could, but I'm begging ya; I'm so alone, and I'm sick and tired of it. I protect the kids like I should, but at the end of the day, I can't deny that I feel alone. I see those kids only once a year, and in the middle I'm by myself. I may protect the kids, but they aren't mine, and it isn't like I can take one home ya know. I miss my family, I miss having a tyke to take care of, and worry after, and I miss having someone look up to me as a father. I know I don't deserve it, but please, I don't want to be alone anymore. If you can do anything, help me…"

All the pain of being the last of his kind had been pressed down deep, justified as being unnecessary in light of how he was needed by the children of the world; but in that moment, sitting alone in a dark room that was lit only by the light of the moon, a lonely rabbit sat in anguish grieving for his lost loved ones and the loneliness that plagued him now more than ever.

…

North sat in his workshop, a delicate ballerina danced across the table top, her icy feet gliding across the wood as her creator watched. Just as she lifted one leg in the air in a graceful pirouette, a yeti barged into the room knocking the dancer off balance and sending her to shatter on the floor. North slowly leveled a glare at the yeti, chin quivering with the barely suppressed rage he felt.

"Vhat" he said in a thick accent induced by his anger "is so difficult to comprehend about the concept… of KNOCKING?!"

The yeti stared at the broken ballerina in abject horror before beginning to garble in yetish. His arms flew about as he began to describe what was so urgent that he had completely forgotten his agreement to knock. North listened with a face painted with strained tolerance, before his eyes became wide at the news. Bolting to his feet, he stumbled out the door, and sprinted down the hall towards the globe. Upon reaching it, the large man was both surprised and excited at the soft glow coming from the moon signaling an audience with MiM.

"MiM!" North bellowed happily "To what do I owe honor of visit?"

"_Something has been brought to my attention old friend,"_ Manny replied in his translucent voice _"and I feel that it would not hurt to get involved this one time."_

"Oh?" North was surprised, MiM so rarely interfered with the affairs of others, much less spoke to anyone, it was pretty shocking just to hear him say that he was planning something of that sort "And what may I ask, are you going to do?"

"_Aster is falling into the depths of sorrow due to the loneliness of being the last of his kind, his light is flickering out. In order to save him, I must stretch forth my magic and cause a past problem to resurface."_

Father Christmas furrowed his eyebrows as he considered MiM's words before his eyes brightened in understanding "You are going to turn Jack back into a Pooka, but for what purpose? He cannot do job as Pooka, and what would Jack say? He might not wish to become a Pooka!"

"_It is not a permanent transformation"_ Manny replied in a patient tone _"But there are similarities between the two of them. Jack wishes for a family, people who love and care for him, and Bunny is longing for the same."_

"Are we not family?" North cried his arms stretching in frustrated confusion "Am I not father to winter spirit?"

"_You are a wonderful father figure"_ MiM consoled _"But while you guard Wonder, Bunny guards Hope. Jack Frost has just come out of three hundred years of isolation, and he still contains all the wonder of a child, but his own insecurity created a deep void within him, a depression that makes him doubt his own worth, what he needs is Hope."_

North felt his anger deflate as he considered Manny's words and acknowledged the truth in them. Massaging his temples, the large man finally grumbled "And how long will Jack be in this form?"

"_Until both find what they are looking for."_

"Which is…?"

"_A family that gives them the strength to live, and Hope to face the future as they are…"_

….

Far away near a lake in Burgess, a young winter sprite skated forlornly around the lake that he had only recently learned was the lake he drowned in. The old darkness of depression was creeping into the corners of his mind as he dragged his staff behind him in a dejected silence. He hated his own weakness at allowing these feelings to overwhelm him, especially now that he was a guardian, but Jack couldn't stop the emotions that begged to be acknowledged. Worries for his present, sorrow for his past, and fear for his future all clamored to be brought to the forefront of his mind. He wanted to tell someone about the pain he felt, but a nagging insecurity in the back of his mind informed him that no one would care, or would call him weak. He didn't want that, he wanted to fight against the suffocating darkness that threatened to snuff him out every time he was by himself, he wanted many things, but that didn't mean he got them. That last thought caused spicy anger to burn through his veins, and the boy gave an angry turn that spread a thick wave of ice in every direction, the boy threw his hood off his head, and glared defiantly at the moon.

"Look Moon," he shouted his voice tinged in both anger and sorrow "I know you made me a guardian, and that's great, and yeah we're one big family…kind of… but I still feel completely alone. I don't get it! You created me to protect the kids, but 90% of them can't see me, and the ones that do aren't always around, and don't get me started on the guardians! They're always busy, so now with the prospect of actually having a family, and them not having time for me, I'm even lonelier now than ever! Will you…" Jack struggled to find the words so deeply etched into his heart before finally shouting his pain "Will you just make something CHANGE?!"

It was then that a white hot pain lanced through his body causing Jack to cry out and crumple to the ground. His bones stretched, and his muscles felt like they melted into wax as they pulled in new odd directions along with his skeletal structure. Needle like pinpricks prickled across his skin, making Jack clench his eyes shut. A cry of pain echoed around the lake as a bright light shot down from the moon enveloping the winter spirit, and changing him into something else entirely. He writhed in agony as he felt his skull shift, and his nose flatten. Finally the pain ended, and Jack lay on the ground in a trembling ball, his teeth chattering from what he hoped was shock.

He couldn't explain it, but for some reason he felt…COLD!

Rising unsteadily onto his hands and knees, Jack felt his brow furrow in confusion when he realized that his feet, no, his entire leg felt different, strange even, alien. Looking down, Jack almost screamed when he saw two fuzzy white paws sticking out of the sleeves of his hoodie. Shuffling across the ground to the edge of the lake, the sprite was shocked to find not his usual pale features staring back up at him from the glassy ice, but the face of a teenage Pooka with white fur and blue eyes.

A sudden urge to completely wig out was successfully swallowed as the boy stumbled to his feet, and investigated his new body. With trembling hands…er…paws, he fearfully followed the line of his head, and then traveled up his ears. A muffled cry of disbelief and terror squeaked past his pink lips, and Jack could only kick a snow bank in angry frustration. He had been turned into a bunny, and not just any bunny, a Pooka.

Once again staring up at the moon, Jack stomped the ground with a powerful hind leg and shrieked at the top of his lungs;

"THIS IS NOT WHAT I MEANT!"


	13. Pooka Jack Part 2

**No I do not own ROTG….*sigh*….**

**OK…I had WAAAAAY so many reviews, that I cannot answer all your questions, and reply to you individually, but please do not let that stop you from reviewing. I love, appreciate, and enjoy every single one, especially the ones from you guests! Everyone feel free to critique, hypothesize, throw ideas, or just melt into a delirious ball of hapless fluff.**

**BTW…Every 100 reviews, one reviewer will get a free one shot request… As my 100****th**** reviewer, Midnight Lupus gets the one shot request. Please note that I have rules for my fics…**

**I do not do slash(boyxboy or girlxgirl), it is a personal religious conviction of mine, and I would ask that you please respect that.**

**I prefer not to do femJack, or any other gender bending, it just doesn't appease my muse, and I'm unable to write it.**

**Try not to request anything too sadistic. I am a fan of angst, but I do not want my fics to get too dark. I'm naturally a happy positive person, and my stories tend to follow suit.**

**I don't cuss, and neither do my characters. No, I'm not a child, I'm actually an adult, but I tend to lose respect for a person when they cuss. Humans are intelligent, and our vocabulary should convey that.**

**Fluff is a MUST! I'm addicted to fluff! Crying, hurt/comfort, angry outbursts that lead to more crying…it's my candy.**

**So those are my rules. Congratulations Midnight Lupus, I look forward to seeing your request. Here is the next part of Pooka Jack, and I hope everyone enjoys it! Now, ON WITH THE SHOW!**

RRRRRIIIIIIP

Jack felt a breeze hit his legs, and his blue eyes glanced down only to widen in abject horror at the shreds now adorning the snow around his furred legs. When he had stomped on the ground as he yelled at the moon, he unintentionally shredded his pants beyond repair, and was standing in only his hoodie. Jack immediately hunched low to the ground in an effort to cover himself, but another rip caused his long ears to twitch and a pained moan to slip through his lips. Cold air wafted through the rip in the hoodie down his back, and the former winter spirit felt a violent shiver rock his frame.

"Great…" Jack muttered as he looked around "What do I do now?"

A cold wind cut through him, and as Jack felt his entire body convulse in one giant shiver, a low whining hoot escaped from his mouth. Jack shook his head, wrinkling his nose in distaste. Bunny had explained to him just a few weeks previous what that meant, that it was the sound a rabbit made when in distress, or crying. Jack had thought that he had finally gotten rid of the ridiculous sound, but apparently his latest recurrence with being turned into a Pooka had resurrected the cry. The former winter spirit heaved a sigh, and attempted to stand up, but he was unused to his large feet, and bowed legs. With one step he toppled over, and landed in a snowdrift. At first it wasn't that bad, what with his fur and hoodie protecting him, but the moment some snow slid down into his ear Jack was on his feet with an undignified yelp and shaking his head furiously in his hope of dislodging the chunk of ice, until finally sweet relief came as he felt the stubborn piece of crystallized liquid fly out from his tender ear canal.

Once again slowly standing, Jack tried to get used to walking when a golden tendril snuck around the white Pooka, garnering his attention. The former sprite gaped at it, before whirling around to face the sandman, who was currently sporting several question marks over a very surprised face. The teen immediately squatted low to the ground, with his back hunched over in an attempt to hide the fact that he wasn't wearing pants, while his ears flushed pink and plastered themselves to the back of his head. Sandy drifted closer, his eyes wide, and one gold finger reached out to poke the shivering rabbit.

"Yes I'm real!" Jack snapped, as he leaned away from the questioning finger "You don't have to poke me."

A picture of him as a Pooka and a question mark spun around wildly, and Jack sighed. "Look," he said in a voice that showed how strained his sanity was becoming "I don't know how it happened, one minute I'm me and yelling at the moon, and the next I'm an over grown bunny."

The boy turned rabbit was met by a silent chuckle, and Jack could only shoot his best glare at one of his oldest friends. Sandman shrugged in a sign that he could not help the fact that he found the situation funny, and then made a picture of a snowflake drifting towards a candy cane, an idea that Jack found himself nodding his head vigorously to.

"Good idea Sandy" the boy smiled through chattering teeth "Maybe North will know what to do."

The sandman rose into the air gracefully, his hands swirling around as he created his favorite biplane to ride in to the North Pole. Straightening his goggles, he looked down at Jack expectantly, waiting for the boy to fly with the winds as he usually did. But the boy turned Pooka merely stayed in his spot, his teeth chattering and body huddled in a shivering ball of fur. Sandy's eyes widened as a realization hit him that Jack might not be able to use his powers. Turning to face the back of the plane, he used his magic to stretch the frame and create a second seat, and then gold tendrils flowed down the side creating a rope ladder.

Jack looked at the plane, and the ladder being created from sand, and then cast his gaze around for his staff. He may be powerless, but he could not deny the comfort of having it in his hands…paws. Gripping onto the comforting strength found in holding his staff, the winter sprite sighed. He did not like being turned into a Pooka, and having to deal with actual cold for the first time in over three hundred years, he did not like being without his powers, or the soothing friendship he enjoyed with the wind, and he did not like being ignored for three centuries by the moon only to be answered by being turned once again into a fuzzy creature. Jack didn't know why MiM turned him into a Pooka, and he could only think that this had better not be the Man in the moon's idea of a joke, because on a scale of one to ten, this one ranked at a negative thirty.

Still hunched over both from the cold, and embarrassment over being pant less, the boy turned rabbit did small bunny hops on his toes across the snow towards that ladder, then finally stretched himself up to scramble up the ladder. His feet slipped a few times, but he was eventually able to get up and into the seat, slouching down into the sand chair and his legs curled up against his chest as he struggled to maintain body heat. Sandy gave a sympathetic smile before taking off across the landscape, his plane racing at top speeds towards North and the workshop.

…..

North paced the length of the globe room, one hand worrying by stroking his beard. What was MiM thinking turning Jack into a Pooka again? Sure MiM had explained himself with a reasonably understandable logic, but still, the idea of having Jack be turned into a Pooka was not one of the ways he personally would have thought of to help ease the loneliness of the Easter Bunny. And to make matters worse, what if he was a baby again; was he out in the cold right now as an infant Pooka, cold and hungry, without anyone knowing where or how he was? North shuddered at the thought as worry clenched an even tighter grip on his stomach. Maybe he should take the sleigh out and check on Jack? No, North shook his head furiously, Jack didn't like being checked on and he knew that the boy would find it hard to believe that Father Christmas was just popping in for a visit.

North let out an aggravated sigh, and then massaged his eyes with one hand. Maybe he should go, for all he knew Jack was fine, and a little visit wouldn't hurt anything. Just as the large man prepared to yell to Phil to prepare the sleigh, the ceiling of the workshop filled with gold sand, signaling the arrival of the Guardian of dreams. A smile lit North's face at the welcome visitor, hoping maybe Sandy would have some advice for what he should do, and watched as the golden plane came to a stop at the bottom of the workshop.

Sprinting down the stairs, the large man jumped onto the banister, and slid down the steps all the way to the bottom, eager to greet his friend. But as he examined the biplane parked on the workshop ground floor, he noticed something odd. Sandy had a two-seater plane, which was rare, and the guest in the second seat had long white ears. North's heart leapt into his throat as he realized the inevitable truth; Jack had already been turned into a Pooka and Sandy had been the one to find him in said condition. Fortunately for him though, the winter spirit had been lulled into a deep sleep that was graced with snowballs, sleds, and many friends. As North came to a stop and jogged over to the golden man's side, Sandy disintegrated the plane, but was careful to place his guest on a couch before turning to the leader of the guardians.

"Sandy" North spoke quietly, his blue eyes serious with worries for the future "Thank you for bringing him here."

A picture of Jack turning into a rabbit swirled into a question mark, and North could only give a heavy sigh as he cast sorrow filled eyes towards the young spirit sleeping on the couch. Beckoning with his hand, the man urged Sandy to follow him up the stairs and towards his personal study. Sandman followed him up the steps and through the doorway, creating a large golden beanbag chair while Father Christmas sat behind his desk, dragging his large hands down his exhausted face. After a few moments of collective silence, North spoke, his voice soft as he revealed the reason behind Jack's shocking transformation.

"Manny contacted me earlier tonight," North began "He told me that he had plans to change Jack back into a Pooka."

Sandy's eyes grew wide at the news as his jaw did a comical drop. Images swirled over his head, snowflakes mixed with crescent moons, and bunnies danced overhead until they all were exploding in a chaos of confusion. North felt one eyebrow raise as he watched a physical manifestation of his current tumultuous emotions about the whole affair. Finally he raised both hands in a calming gesture in order for Sandman to 'quiet' down.

"Sandy, I know it is confusing, but apparently MiM feels he has good reason for doing this."

Sand swirled to create a question mark, but quickly disintegrated to form a light bulb. Gold danced as a picture of a very lonely Easter Bunny huddled at the base of a tree shone overhead, but then a new image joined the lonely rabbit. A smaller Pooka hopped up, and was quickly hugged by Aster. North nodded, pleased at how quickly Sandy could pick up on things, and then stood so to cast a weary gaze out the window.

"You are correct old friend" the large man intoned "It appears that Manny is worried for Bunny. According to MiM, our old friend is losing his center, and his light is growing dim from the loneliness he feels because he is last of his kind. Manny feels that Jack being turned into a Pooka is the key to both Bunny and Jack finding the family they both want so desperately."

Sandman cast a confused and slightly hurt look at one of his oldest friends, his sand forming a picture of all the guardians in a group hug. North heaved a sigh full of sorrow at the image.

"I know, I know" he practically whispered his blue eyes once again traveling to look across the frozen tundra of his home "But apparently this is something we cannot fix, only Bunny can give Jack the hope he needs to see his own self worth, and only Jack can be the child that Bunny wants so badly to be a father to. I do not understand why Manny has done this, or his reasoning, but what's done is done."

An image of Jack sleeping on the couch drifted across the room accompanied by a question mark, and the large man pursed his lips in thought "I do not think it would be wise to keep him here," North said slowly before his eyes lit up with an idea that had them twinkling in mischief "but I do know where we can take him."

Sandy smiled, if the point of this whole circus was to make Jack and Bunny happy, then the only place left to take the newly turned Pooka was to the warren.

…..

Bunny slowly woke, his memory fuzzy on how he had managed to fall asleep on the floor of Jack's bedroom, before once again reality rang its dreadful chime on why he had come in there in the first place. He was alone, and it looked like he was going to stay that way. Heaving a sigh, the rabbit picked himself off of the floor, stretching his sore muscles until his spine gave a satisfying pop. Giving a small turn, Aster looked over the room, ensuring everything was in its place when something odd caught his eye. Looking closer, he noticed that something was under the sheets in the bed. His eyes narrow with anger over the intrusion of the special place he had worked so hard on, the bunny leaned down, and ripped the sheets away, only to drop them as his face went slack in shock.

A snow white Pooka lay curled up in a ball on the bed, ears placed firmly against the back of his head, his nose twitching as he slept. He wore only a blue hoodie that had a long tear down the back between the shoulder blades, and aster felt his heart clench as he realized just who it was that had magically appeared back in the warren. Snowball, or Jack as he was rightfully called, but Bunny didn't care, his kit was back. Wait…His kit was back?

Aster quickly turned around, scrubbing his eyes with both paws before peeking over his shoulder, yep, still there. Next he slapped himself a few times, bit the inside of his cheek till it bled, and even stomped on his own toe, but each time he was sure he was awake and not dreaming, the mirage stayed firmly planted in the bed. Rushing out of the room, Bunnymund crashed into his kitchen, and melted onto a chair at the table. Shaking paws held his head as his mind raced trying to figure out just what had occurred. As he considered various situations that would result in this conclusion, the Pooka noticed something else that had not been there the night before. A small plate with homemade carrot cake and extra frosting sat in the middle of his dining room table, with a small letter set alongside it. Reaching out, Bunny grasped the envelope, and then opened the seal, his wide green eyes drinking in every word that had been written on the parchment.

_Bunny,_

_I'm sure by now you have found Jack, and yes, he has somehow been turned into Pooka again. I was not sure that workshop was good place for his new form since he does not have powers, and apparently does not like cold. We brought him to you while we research just how to turn him back, until then, please care for him and teach him what he needs to know to survive as a Pooka. Good luck old friend._

_Best Wishes_

_N._

"Crikey" Bunny whispered, the letter fluttering to lay forgotten on the table.

Standing up, Aster felt as if he were in a trance as he walked back into Jack's room. Softly he made his way towards the bed, and gazed on the sleeping face. By the looks of things, he was about half grown, maybe about fourteen in Pooka standards. Technically he was a few inches taller than Jack's usual height, not including the ears, but that meant he was still small even for the average Pooka. Plus his stripes were just about to start coming in. According to Pooka tradition, when a warrior rabbit became of age, they would get their stripes, the markings on their fur signaling their entrance into young adulthood. Those markings would not only reflect who the tyke was on the inside, but would also show the kind of warrior he was.

An explosion of excitement burst inside Aster's chest. He could still remember the day his stripes appeared, it was the day that he knew he was meant for something different because his marks were not the same as everyone else's. Cocking his head, the rabbit briefly wondered what kind of stripes would adorn Jack's thin frame, and how well they would go with his armor. Joy made every nerve ending tingle as another thought crashed through his mind, if Jack was really back to being Snowball for an indefinite amount of time, then that meant that Bunny could teach him what it meant to be a Pooka like his own father had when he was a kit. He could teach him how to use magic, how to fight, and even tell him about all the places he had seen. A shiver went down Bunny's back as his mind raced with all the things he could show the kid. They would go to Australia, deeper inside the warren where only Pooka's were allowed, the egg barracks, his personal lab where he experimented on making chocolate and practiced his magic, the sky was the limit and Aster couldn't wait to begin.

Leaning forward, a happy grin spread across Bunny's features as he softly snuffled Jack's forehead, his nose taking in deep drafts of the young tyke's scent. Giving the sleeping face a soft lick, he touched noses with the former spirit until bleary blue eyes opened to gaze on the Easter Bunny.

"Good morning" Bunny chuckled as furry white paws scrubbed at the blue eyes in an attempt to wipe the sleep away.

"Morning" Jack yawned, his pink mouth stretching wide "Where am I?"

"You're home mate" Aster replied softly, his green eyes gazing on the son he had missed so dearly "You're home."


	14. Video Game Therapy

**Ok….I am an addict to Bunny/Jack Brother fluff…So this is yet ANOTHER fluffy chapter devoted to Jack and Bunny, hopefully with lots of angst though it won't be too weepy. I don't think… LOL**

**I do not own ROTG…and I hope everyone enjoys this really odd idea that came out of nowhere.**

Jack sat in his room, his face set in an angry pout as he mashed buttons on the video game controller with frustrated thumbs. Loud music blasted through his ear buds as he cut his way through enemies on the screen in front of him. Never before had the winter spirit been so happy that North had installed the TV in his room, along with the Playstation 3, and Xbox 360, it provided the perfect distraction from something he did not want to spend any amount of time thinking about. For the first time since they met, Jack had had a major blow up with Jamie, a huge fight that resulted in Jack flying off in anger.

Now he was sitting in the swivel chair in his room, watching his virtual character slash through monsters with a giant sword in berserker mode, wishing that he could just numb the pain with soda and popcorn. This was the state that E. Aster Bunnymund found the winter sprite. Bunny came in right as Jack made the screen explode with color and sound as some guy in Arabian type clothing with a sword in one hand, and a dagger in another navigated his way through a large castle that was crawling with monsters and creepy zombie like creatures. He winced at the violence of the game before looking over at Jack, his green eyes softening at the pain leaking through Jack's tough guy façade.

Leaning against the doorframe, the Pooka considered his options. Due to the loud music blasting into the headphones from the iPod, Jack hadn't heard the warrior rabbit open the door, which meant that Bunny could leave if he wanted to. But judging from the forlorn sighs emanating from the child, Aster could not bring himself to leave without checking on him, which of course left him with a new problem, how to do so? Jack didn't look like he was in the mood for their usual banter; no doubt the smallest tease or insult could send the spirit flying to Antarctica, which would then lead to Bunny being scolded by Tooth, North, and even Sandy. But the warrior rabbit wasn't one to be all mushy, at least, that's what he told himself. So he took the only option available to him that would yield positive results, he pulled over the second swivel chair and sat down next to the spirit. Bending over he picked up a controller and fiddled with it, trying for the entire world to appear casual.

Jack heaved an aggravated sigh when he noticed Bunny sit next to him out of his peripheral vision. With an irritated flick, he pulled one of the head phone buds from his ear, and huffed at the rabbit "What do you want Cotton tail?"

"Nuthin" Aster shrugged "Just wondering what this doohickey is, tha's all."

"Whatever, don't lie to me" Jack mumbled as he did a particularly nasty number on a gigantic spider "You know that this is a Playstation 3, it doesn't take a genius to figure that out."

Bunny's whiskers twitched at the comment that could either way as a compliment or an insult, but he decided not to take the bait, and continue said 'normal conversation'. "Ok" he said with paws lifted in the air in mock surrender "Ya got me there, I know what a Playstation 3 is, but I do not know the games for it, including this one."

Jack rolled his eyes, feeling very much like the teenager he was "It's called Prince of Persia."

"Interestin' name" Bunny murmured, his green eyes watching the screen "and the purpose of this game would be…?"

"Destroy all demonic dust monsters that were created by the sands of time, who now walk around trying to suck the life out of people." Jack said emphasizing his words by slashing various birds, cutting a dust monster in half, and then powering his dagger up in order to create a blast big enough to destroy a stone blocking his way from going down a secret passageway.

Aster merely gave a sage nod, one of his eyebrows raised towards the ceiling as he watched the violence on the screen reach a fever pitch as Jack ran head first into a den of monsters, his character jumping around, blasting, slashing, and running along walls shooting the gun while cutting with his sword. Giving a snort, Bunny cast an obnoxious grin at the angry boy, his green eyes twinkling with mischief.

"You know" he drawled "I can do every single one of those move ya did with that guy of yours."

"The Prince is different from you" Jack muttered "He uses a sword and a dagger, at the same time, you use those wooden stick things."

"Oi!" Bunny exclaimed in mock indignation "Those 'wooden stick things' are boomerangs, and they are more powerful than most people give 'em credit to bein'. Besides, I told you, I'm a master of tai chi, and the ancient art of Jiujutsu, which means that I've had weapons trainin'. I just choose to use the boomerangs because they are from my home."

Jack allowed a glimmer of his old self peek through as the smallest smirk quirked one side of his mouth "So…" he said slowly, the smirk becoming a small grin "You can do this?"

The Prince ran up one wall, jumped flipping over a group of sand demons, but then doing a combo slicing their heads off. Bunny winced, but nodded his head "Yeah, that is a pretty basic move."

Jack pursed his lips "What about this?"

Thumbs flying over the controller, Jack made his character fling himself backwards as he danced on his hands doing some kind of cartwheel spinning kick, demolishing several sand demons at once, Bunny scoffed "Please, that one only looks hard because the spinning makes it fancy, but tha's the easiest one in the book."

Jack allowed a small giggle to burst past his lips "Alright, how about this one?"

The Prince ran up to an enemy, jumping onto the creature's chest and then leaping high into the air. Flipping his body over the monster, the character came down, slicing the thing down the back, and then the Prince swooped down for sweeping kick just inches off the grass. Aster gave a big grin "I could do that!" he said "If I wanted to."

"Oh yeah?" Jack taunted his blue eyes finally brightening from the funk he had fallen into from his fight from Jamie "Then why don't you prove it next time we get in a fight with some of Pitch's nightmares!"

"Fine then" Bunnymund harrumphed "I will!"

Jack laughed, but then things became quiet again as the two sat in companionable silence, while Jack continued his assault on various dust demons, and Bunny found himself watching the characters moves, unable to deny that the moves executed by the character, though brutal, were beautiful to watch, especially from a trained warrior's point of view. But as time passed, Bunny noticed the boy slowly sink back into his bad mood, though without the angry undertone, now he just looked deflated, like he couldn't muster the energy to maintain a spirit of fun, which worried Bunny to no end.

"A'right Snow flake" Bunny said as upbeat as he could "Why don't you pop in a two player game, and we can talk about what's eatin' you alive?"

Jack bit his bottom lip and considered turning the rabbit down, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. Just the fact that Aster came in to his room, and was willing to sit and play video games with him, almost like a big brother would for his younger sibling, it made Jack feel safe. Like right now he was in a special bubble where no pain existed, and he could say anything without fear of it getting out. Finally with a sigh of resignation, the winter sprite stood up, and popped in his favorite combat racing game. As the opening theme for JakX played through the speakers, Jack gave Bunny the tutorial for how to drive, use his weapons, and how to use his turbo boost.

Finally they were on the starting line, and Jack quickly discovered that Bunny had more knowledge in video games than he had first let on, especially racing games, which the winter spirit discovered after Bunny used a missile launcher to blow him over a ravine and take the lead. Blue eyes glared at the rabbit, then turned back to the screen as he used his turbo to jump over a hole, and thereby gain the lead by making himself a shortcut. Bunny's jaw dropped, but then he gave a robust laugh at the way the kid had used his car's hydraulics to first jump, and then the turbo to make it over the ravine and back onto the track. Fidgeting himself into a more comfortable position, Aster got his 'game face' on, and put even more focus into defeating his rival. The race ended with Bunny and Jack going neck and neck towards the finish line, but Aster had an ace up his sleeve, suddenly putting on the brakes, the rabbit shot his last missile at the boy seconds before he was going to go over the finish line. As the winter sprite's car went up in flames, Bunny zoomed past, and took first place, leaving the second car in the dust awaiting to be resurrected on the track.

The Pooka gave a triumphant shout, and Jack gave a good natured roll of his eyes before clicking on another race.

"So" Bunny spoke softly as he watched Jack scroll through possible race tracks "You gonna say what's makin' ya so angry?"

Jack blushed, suddenly feeling very silly for why he had holed himself up in his room "Um.." he muttered "Jamie…Jamie and I… We had a fight."

At this Bunny shot the winter spirit a look of shocked surprise "You and Jamie had a fight?" he asked incredulously "I didn't think the two of ya were capable of fightin' with each other."

Jack gave a bitter snort "Yeah, well it happened."

"Can I ask what happened?"

The winter sprite looked down at his lap, the video game forgotten for the moment as he struggled to swallow a lump that had formed in his throat. "I's nothin'" he muttered softly.

"Snowflake" Bunny sighed "It can't be nothing if you don't even have the energy to try and have fun. Whatever it was that you fought about, it's messin' with ya center, and it ain't healthy to keep things bottled up, especially things that hurt ya."

"It's just…" Jack swallowed trying hard not to let the tears fall "Jamie's mom and dad are getting a divorce, and when I tried to help by cheering him up, Jamie…he just…blew up."

"Ah" Bunny said his green eyes lighting up in understanding "So what did the both of you say?"

"I just told him that everything was going to be ok," Jack mumbled tears slowly beginning to swell in his eyes "And then he got mad, and said… he said…"

Bunny turned to face the little sprite more directly, a comforting paw squeezing his thin shoulder in reassurance "What did he say?"

Jack took a long shuddering breath before answering, twin teardrops falling, emphasizing the pain behind the words that Jamie had spoken "He said that I couldn't understand what he was going through because I wasn't human and didn't know what it was like to have a family."

Jack bit his bottom lip to swallow back the sobs creeping up his throat, then drew his legs up to his chest, and burying his face in his knees. Bunny sat in conflicted silence, one part of him shocked by the whispered words uttered by the youngest guardian, the other part angry that Jamie would use such a sensitive subject against Jack. But after giving himself a firm shake, the Pooka reminded himself that Jamie was going through a hard time, regardless of how cruel his words. But his personal feelings over this matter could be dealt with later, because every second he spent in quiet thought, was another second spent by the winter spirit going into an even deeper and deeper depression.

Jack had his arms wrapped tightly around his legs, his face firmly planted between his knees as he struggled to control the sheer amount of sorrow drowning him in its icy depths. One pale hand reaching up and gripping his white hair, Jack grit his teeth, wishing that Bunny was not sitting next to him, that he could just be alone again, and not have to bear the pain of heartbreak. But just as that thought slipped by, two strong arms wrapped themselves around his trembling form, and a soft voice rumbled from the chest that he head was now lying against.

"What did I tell ya about bottling things up Snowflake? It's ok; everyone deserves a good cry every now and again, just go ahead and let it out."

That was all it took before the wall crumbled, his carefully crafted façade melting away to reveal the hurting child underneath. Violent sobs wracked his frame and Jack found himself feeling guilty for wishing that Bunny wasn't there, because if it wasn't for the Pooka, he wouldn't be able to find some solace from the pain of Jamie's words. Bunny gave a grief filled sigh, one hand rubbing Jack's back, the other stroking his hair. They sat like that for good five or so minutes, until Jack's sobs finally began to slow down to shuddering gasps. Sitting up, the winter spirit quickly wiped his eyes, his gaze staring down at the ground in ashamed silence.

"Sorry for exploding." He murmured.

Bunny ruffled Jack's hair fondly "Ya don't need to apologize, I can understand how much it hurts when someone says something that they don't mean, especially when it comes from a friend."

"Does this mean that we aren't friends anymore?" Jack asked softly his heart hurting from what he feared would be the answer.

"Not on your nelly!" Bunny smiled gently "So you had a spat, it doesn't mean that things are over, it just means that life happened, and ya need to get over it."

"Really?" moist blue eyes glanced up to meet warm green "We can still be friends?"

"Only if you want to be" the rabbit shrugged "I mean, Jamie was the one that hurt you, the ball's in your court, you decide whether you want to forgive and forget."

"I don't want to stop being friends" Jack said firmly before his eyes took on that defeated look again "but I don't know why he would say something like that."

"Aw Jack" Bunny sighed reaching out to gather the grieving boy in for one more hug "The two people he trusted most in his life just up and split, and whether they know it or not, they are committing one of the deepest betrayals that a child can endure, the betrayal of love. The first mistake every kid that has to watch their parents' divorce can make is thinking that it is their fault. Right now Jamie is wondering if it is his fault that his parents don't love each other anymore, he is wracking his brain trying to figure out if there were anything he could have done to prevent this, but the truth is, he couldn't. Only the selfishness of adults cause them to divorce, it is NEVER the fault of the children, and Jamie hasn't realized this yet. He is in pain, and he is scared because he feels like the people he loves most are abandoning him, and he is scared that if he can't trust his parents to not abandon him, then he can't trust his friends either, so he is distancing himself from you in some attempt to protect himself from even more hurt. He is terrified that he will be forgotten in the sea of selfishness and hate being spewed on both sides. He is scared that he's becoming invisible, and that it is all his fault that this happened in the first place, because he wasn't good enough, or smart enough, or better behaved. But like I said, it isn't his fault, nor is it anyone's fault except the people doing the divorcing."

Jack nodded, he could understand those fears all too well "Ok, I guess I understand when you put it that way."

Straightening the boy up, Bunny cast a reassuring smile at Jack "So what are ya gonna do?"

Jack sat in thought for a few moments, and then answered "I'm going to Burgess, and I'm going to apologize for not understanding, then I will see about making sure Jamie doesn't feel alone."

Aster ruffled the white head "Good boy"

**Thanks to everyone who read this, and to anyone who is going through this situation, please know; It is NOT your fault, your parents are making this decision because of their own problems, but it is NOT your fault. You will not be forgotten, and you are still loved. My mom divorced my birth father(I never met him thank goodness), and he was an evil man to did very bad things, which hurt my mom, and scarred my sisters. I understand how things can happen, how life can happen, but don't lose hope. Everyone reading this, you are VALUABLE, you are BEAUTIFUL (Boys you are HANDSOME), and you have the POTENTIAL to grow up into something MAGNIFICENT.**

**Hope you enjoyed this latest chapter!**

**And to Alana-kittychan: I LOVE One Piece, but I'm currently more obsessed with Fairy Tail LOLOLOL!**

**Kyuubecky: WOW! Between you and Lovepuppy316, you guys give great reviews! LOL**


	15. When Lightning Strikes

**Hi everyone! This story is for Midnight Lupus since they were the 100****th**** reviewer, and got to ask for their own personal one shot. Remember, the next one shot could be YOURS but you have to keep REVIEWING!**

**I am not going to drop Pooka Jack, keep your daks on, but I wanted to keep my promise of a one shot to the 100****th**** reviewer. So here ya go!**

**I do not own ROTG…**

April is known for its thunderstorms, the loud thunder accompanied by arcs of lightning painting the sky. Many humans around the world reveled in sitting at home, listening to the rain pitter patter against the roof top, Jack was not one of those people. He couldn't remember much from his past, so he knew little about the time as a human or if he enjoyed rain storms, but he knew he did not like them now.

It was during such a storm in late April that Jack was rushing back to the Pole after visiting Jamie in Burgess. The boy's birthday was that day, and even though the weather was getting warm, Jack made the effort to see his first believer. It was after the party that the winter sprite noticed that he was getting light headed and feeling a little queasy, and that was when he knew he needed to get home to North's workshop. Before he became a guardian and for a small time afterwards, Jack would spend the summers in a cold climate, although once about a year after they had destroyed Pitch he had the misfortune of hibernating all summer, waking only to puke as he suffered from heatstroke. It was only because he had found a cool cave to sleep in that he survived, that and the fact that Toothiana had found him, but that summer was full of fever induced nightmares and Jack never wanted to repeat that experience again.

Flying up into the sky, Jack could smell that rain that was getting ready to drop on his favorite town. The air became thick with humidity, sapping the sprite of his strength. Normally spring rain cooled the air down, and was almost refreshing to fly through as the rain drops fell all around him. But it was days like today when the heat would put up a fight, and the air would grow heavy as humidity settled down on its haunches, refusing to rise until it was good and ready, that the winter spirit felt animosity towards the rain. Jack fought the gag crawling up his throat as he felt a wave of nausea afflict his sense, knocking his vision askew, and sending his equilibrium flying. He needed to leave now, or else he would suffer from another summer like the one just a few short years before.

Wiping sweat from his eyes, the sprite took off in the direction of the North Pole, flying high over the treetops at the fastest speed he could attain in his current condition. Sweat poured from his face, stinging his eyes, temporarily blinding him till he wiped it away. It was because of this that Jack never saw it coming, the arcing electric sword that could kill at a touch, not until it plunged through his back sending him tumbling towards the ground as screams of pain ripped from his mouth. Jack gripped his chest as his heartbeat went from erratic, to painfully slow, back to incredibly fast. His breath came in short painful bursts as he labored to breathe, and his staff was long forgotten, flung somewhere far away from him.

Jack hit the ground with an agonizing crash; his eyes clenched shut in pain as he felt his insides boil. Rolling onto his back, Jack's mouth stretched as a shriek of sheer torment ripped itself from within the writhing form on the grass. Another bead of sweat dripped from his hair, and hit skin, electricity crackling as the liquid was energized, which produced another pained cry to come from the winter spirit. Jack shuddered and gasped as his torso arched with each wave of burning agony that sparked across his nerve endings. He needed to cool off, if for no other reason than to keep himself from getting electrocuted by his own sweat. With slow pain filled movements, Jack stripped himself of his hoodie, and then removed his shirt. A cool breeze soothed the boy just enough to help him lift his head and register his location. Up ahead was a cave, and wouldn't you know it, it was the one that Jack had spent that horrid summer. But he couldn't afford to be picky, the cave was cooler than it was out in the open, and he needed cold.

Leaving his shirt and hoodie, Jack drug himself across the grass with weak trembling arms, rocks cut into the bare skin of his chest leaving pink and bleeding scrapes. But the sprite didn't feel it, his brain was shutting down the unnecessary functions such as eyesight, and numbing the feeling in his hands and feet in order to put his body on basic life support, he needed to hurry. With the last vestiges of his eyesight finally winking into darkness, Jack felt his way into the cave, his breath merely a labored wheeze until finally, his tired body touched the cool stone interior of the cave. Curling up, the boy finally allowed himself to be flung into unconsciousness, not knowing when or where a rescue might come, if it came at all.

…

"I do not understand," North grumbled, troubled blue eyes staring into the flames of the fireplace "He should be here by now."

"Frostbite is almost always late" Bunny shrugged "Besides, he's a big boy and survived without us for years, I doubt he all of a sudden needs us to watch over him now."

"I don't know," the large man shook his head slowly as he turned to face his friends "I have had bad feeling in my belly all day."

"Well where did he go?" Tooth asked softly her own lavender eyes tinged with concern.

North sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose between two fingers "He said that today was Jamie's birthday, and that he wanted to be at his party to tell him happy birthday."

"Stop worrying" Bunnymund smiled "I'm sure that he is probably still at Jamie's house playing video games, and lost track of time."

North gave a weak smile at what he hoped was the truth, but as minutes ticked by, the guardians began to twitch, and shuffle. Tooth had taken up residence near one of the windows, one thumbnail firmly clenched between her teeth as her eyes stared unblinking out onto the frozen tundra. Sandman had created a sand man plus a table and was playing ping pong with it as he nervously glanced at the clock every few seconds. Bunny had sat in several different chairs, growing fidgety in each one within a matter of minutes and finally settled with pacing up and down the room. North had not moved a muscle from in front of the fireplace, but only stood with his arms crossed, staring into the flames waiting for their youngest member to arrive. Minutes turned into hours, and soon it was Bunnymund who broke the silence first.

"A'right North" He burst out, one foot giving an impatient stamp "I take back what I said, something's wrong, and we need to go find Frostbite."

"I agree" Tooth cried as she raised one hand in agreement.

Sandman gave two thumbs up, and North did not say anything. He merely nodded and headed straight for his sleigh. Phil, who had been watching the guardians pace, shuffle, and murmur from the beginning immediately yelled in Yetish for the other Yetis to begin preparation for departure. Bunny tapped the ground, nodding at Santa as the man passed him, both of them having a silent conversation acknowledging that Bunny will get to Burgess and begin the search while the others made their way to Burgess.

After diving into his tunnel, it took about thirty seconds before his ears were seen popping out of a hole nearby the lake that Jack favored so much. Slowly he hopped out, his nose wrinkling as he ears went back in discomfort due to the rain. Judging from the mess of fallen branches and the looks of the clouds, a pretty nasty storm had just passed overhead, but now was just the light rain after the thunder and lightning. Breathing deeply, Bunnymund felt his fur bristle as he choked and coughed from the humidity damp clinging to the inside of his lungs. Aster shook himself as he began to pant from the abnormal heat accompanying the storm. He hated strong humidity; it weighed him down, and made his limbs sluggish.

Hopping a few yards, Bunny cast his gaze around for any sign of the familiar white mop of hair, but what he eventually saw sent every protective instinct he had inside of him into hyper drive. Several yards away, stuck in the ground, was Jack's staff. The Pooka's heart clenched with fear as he hopped towards the wooden instrument, his nose twitching as he sniffed out the scent still clinging to the grain, hoping against hope that he was wrong; unfortunately he was not.

Taking the staff into his trembling paws, Bunny barely registered the shouts of the other Guardians as they gathered behind him, each growing quiet at the item being held by the warrior rabbit. Tooth put two hands on her mouth as she gave a small gasp before taking off into the sky, searching for any more clues. Bunny crouched low to the ground, sniffing for the winter sprite's scent, but he popped back up immediately as Toothiana gave a loud shout. Following the fairy, the group came to a stop as they gathered around their comrade. She knelt on the ground, her small hands picking up Jack's hoodie that lay forgotten on the ground. Lavender eyes filling with tears, she turned it around to show them the back of the shirt, only to reveal a hole that had been burned around the edges. North's eyes grew wide as his hand clenched and unclenched on the hilt of his sword.

Bunny sent his keen eyes across the grass, searching for clues that would explain why their snowflake was alone, without his staff, and shirtless, but the rain had washed much of it away, leaving the rabbit with nothing to go on. Sitting back on his haunches, the Pooka cast his gaze to the forest around him, green eyes analyzing every bush, and rock, and tree. Finally he settled on the cave, and his brain sparked as pieces clicked together.

"Oi, Tooth" Bunny said quickly as he rose to his full height his eyes never leaving the mouth of the cave "Where did ya say ya found the kid when he was having troubles a few summers back?"

"I found him in a cave…" Toothiana replied slowly before her lavender eyes widened with recognition as she looked around almost as if she were seeing her surroundings for the first time "Actually, I found him in _that_ cave. I don't know if he would be there, but it's worth a look."

Bunny nodded, and all four guardians walked forward, praying that they would find their lost child, but none of them could have expected what they would find.

Walking into the cave, they paused as their eyes adjusted to the gloom of the cavern in comparison to the brightness of the outside. Finally, the interior became clearer, and they walked inside only to find Jack sitting against the wall, his face and hair damp with sweat from a fever raging through his thin frame, but the most striking thing about how they found him, was his eyes. They azure orbs, once soft and playful as they plotted an eternity's worth of mischief, were wide and wild. His pupils were the size of pinpricks in his state of fevered delirium, and the cerulean gaze cast itself around the interior in a frenzied paranoia known only to be possessed by feral animals.

"Wait" Bunny held up a paw, his own animalistic instincts kicking in as he scrutinized the small teen "I'm not getting a good feeling about this."

"What do you mean?" Tooth wailed in upset impatience "It's _Jack_, he needs our help!"

Without waiting for a reply from the warrior rabbit, Tooth flung herself forward, flying towards the young boy who had claimed such a large part of their hearts. In the fog of pain and fever, Jack only recognized one thing, another animal was coming into his territory, and he was not happy. Just as Tooth opened her arms to try and wrap the boy in what she wanted to be a comforting hug, Jack lunged forward, his lip curled as he bared his teeth and snarled at her. Toothiana paused, her eyes growing large as she took in Jack's appearance. He was now on all fours, his back arched as if he were trying to fluff fur and make himself appear to be larger, his fingers were curved into claws, and his face strongly resembled that of a wolf's before it attacked. Snapping his teeth at the shadowy figure in front of him, Jack sent the strong message across the gap that he would bite should they come any closer.

Tooth retreated, her hands covering her mouth as she struggled to process just what was happening "What" she began in a shocked tone "What's wrong with him?"

Bunny sighed, he had been suspicious of this for years, but this little display only helped to prove him right "Think about it" the rabbit said as he turned to the fairy "Jack had been alone for how many years before he became a guardian? Do you really think that the solitude had no effect on him?"

"But…" Toothiana's voice cracked as she practically whispered her reply "But that doesn't explain why…"

"Yes Tooth, it does" North interrupted his blue eyes filling with sorrow and guilt "When you are in supreme isolation for a long period of time, even the most civilized of men can become animals in their struggle to survive. I had seen it in my time before I was chosen by MiM, and I assure you, it is very real. Jack had been alone for three hundred years, to say that he was not affected by that isolation would be naïve, and I'm sure that Jack had his moments where he needed to cast aside his humanity, just to survive that state of loneliness."

Sandy nodded sadly, he wanted to help, but in this state of delirium Jack was unreachable. Too much adrenaline was rushing through his system, and to throw a dream sand baseball would only aggravate the boy and solidify the thought that they were a threat. Turning towards North, the Golden man made a picture of them leaving, and allowing Jack to calm down before trying to help him.

"What are you CRAZY?!" Tooth screamed before she was quickly shushed by Bunny.

Jack was startled by the cry, and now was backed against the wall, snarling and growling, his wild blue eyes glared untrustingly at his friends. Bunny lowered his ears, fighting against the rabbit instincts urging him to run from the predator in front of him, instead he turned to tooth and spoke in a tone as low and calming voice that he could muster.

"Sandy's right Sheila" the Pooka said "It is best to leave Jack alone until he's calm."

"But…but…" Tooth looked back and forth between Jack and Bunny "Look at him, he needs medical help _now_, I mean…just look at his back!"

Bunny had indeed seen the boy's back, it was hard not to see what with his pale skin. Arcing from the small of his back, up across his shoulders, was a burn that looked very much like someone had taken a pencil and drawn a lightning bolt. It was phenomenon known to happen amongst those who had been struck by lightning, it was both beautiful and agonizing to see, and it answered everyone's questions on what had happened to the child. The knowledge only proved to make the urgency to help the sprite only more powerful, but this was a delicate situation, one that could not be rushed, and so Bunny stood up and did something he had not done in a very long time. He reminded the guardians just _what_ he was.

"Yeah Tooth," Aster said sternly his green eyes glinting in fierce determination "but the kid's mind has fallen into a state similar to a wild animal, as long as a bunch of people stand here deliberating, he is going to keep feeling threatened, and he will continue to bite and struggle until it is too late to save his life."

"But I don't want to leave him alone." The fairy said softly, a sob riding on her words.

"He won't be" Bunny reassured "because I'm staying with him."

"Wait" North blustered "but you just said…"

"I said a bunch of _people_" The Pooka felt himself almost growl as he stood to his full height and glared at North with icy green eyes "But I am _not_ people, I am an animal, and am the only person qualified to deal with Jack in his current state."

North felt his jaw drop as he tried to collect himself, he had forgotten, they had all forgotten that Bunny was in truth an animal. A magical being yes, but first and foremost, a wild creature of nature that was not similar to humans at all. Jack, North, Sandy, and Tooth had all started out as humans, but Bunny was different; he had been a warrior rabbit from the beginning. Finally with a sigh of resignation, North nodded his head, and gestured for everyone to file out of the cave, except for Bunny of course.

"Wait" Bunny said quickly, lowering his voice even further "Have a stream of sand ready, and when I tap the ground with my foot, that's your cue to knock him out."

Sandy nodded, already creating a ribbon thin as a strand of hair and gently coaxing it through the shadows towards the boy. North clapped Bunny on the shoulder, giving him a confident nod as a symbol that he trusted the Pooka to take care of business. And as Tooth gave one last long look of fear and grief, she finally flew out of the cave, her hands trembling as she wrung them out of the anxiety on whether or not, she would get her Sweet Tooth back. Bunny turned back towards the child still snarling at him, and then hopped down onto all fours. This would take time, and patience, two things he hoped they had. Lowering his ears, and curling in his tail, the Pooka did his best to make himself as small and nonthreatening as possible. Jack continued to pace and snarl, occasionally snapping his teeth, and Bunny found the similarities between his actions and a wolf almost uncanny. If he could hazard a guess, then Bunny would almost say that Jack must had been cornered by wolves, and held in one position unable to escape for a long enough time that the experience had traumatized the boy. Either way though, the only way to get through to him was by speaking his language, which meant imitating what he knew about wolf communication.

After a good twenty minutes, Jack finally calmed down, his guttural snarls replaced by soft woofing growls. He sat by the wall, his fingers still curled and battle ready, but his body was no longer tensed or bunched up as if he would leap into action and attack at the slightest provocation. Wary blue eyes glowed in the dim light as the winter sprite watched the strange creature who had invaded his territory. Slowly, Bunny shuffled inch by inch closer to Jack, making sure that his head was low, and his tail was down. In wolf lingo, this meant that he was submitting to the dominant animal, which was something that went against every ounce of pride within the rabbit. But it was either sacrifice his ego, or challenge Jack to a fight in order to find the dominant alpha, and the Pooka wasn't sure that Jack would be able to make it out of such a tussle unharmed, especially in his current state.

And so, Bunny made his slow journey, bit by bit, towards the youngest guardian, until finally he stood just a foot away. By this time Jack's entire body was no longer tense, his fingers relaxed, and he was staring at him with an expression that almost spoke of boredom. With one hand, Bunny reached out, attempting to touch Jack, but that was a bad idea. Immediately the hackles went up, and Jack snapped at Bunny, biting his paw almost to the point of bleeding. Aster snatched his paw back, fighting the urge to start yelling, and immediately lay on his back. This was the ultimate sign that he meant no harm, and if Jack accepted it, then things would turn out all right.

Jack stared at him, his lips pulled back in a savage snarl of distrust and anger, and Bunny cursed himself for thinking that he could simply reach out and touch the kid. Finally, after five minutes of growling and snapping, Jack backed up and lay on the stone, his blue eyes never leaving the strange intruder. Bunny once again slowly made it to his feet, and began his trek to the child. His green eyes scrutinized Jack, noting how his breathing was becoming labored, and his once brilliant eyes were becoming dull, his pale skin was covered by a sheen of sweat from the fever the rabbit could already feel coming off of him.

Only after a good ten to fifteen minutes of cautious crawls, the rabbit finally was within a few inches of the boy. Jack stared at him, his blue eyes becoming angry, but the weakness of his body keeping him from attacking. Thinking that was either now, or never, Bunny tapped the ground with his foot, and the ribbon of dream sand encircled Jack's head, instantly lulling him into sleep. Bunny let out the breath he hadn't realized he had been holding as he caught the boy in his arms. Soon the other guardians had filed back inside, and they were carrying Jack to the sleigh.

…

Jack slowly came to, his head throbbing, and his chest aching from each breath he was able to drag into his battered body. One pale hand slowly reaching up to run slender fingers through his hair, the winter sprite gave a small groan of discomfort as he tried to remember just how he had made it back to his room at the North Pole. That sound, quiet as it was, was enough to bring Bunny running from his spot on a chair on the other side of the room. Bending over the ill child, Aster smoothed the white hair away from his forehead, his eyes taking in every detail as he searched for any proof that might show Jack to be in any kind of distress, and finding none the rabbit let out a sigh of relief.

"Hey Frostbite" he drawled slowly "How ya feelin'?"

"Ok, I think" Jack rasped back in a hoarse voice "but I don't remember how I got here."

Aster sat on the edge of the bed, reaching over to dunk a rag in a bowl of cold water before applying it to the sprite's face. "Well we found ya after the storm, and brought ya home."

Jack hissed, even though the cold water felt marvelous, the burns on his face flared up with angry stinging the minute the liquid made contact. Bunny winced, his ears lowering in guilt, before once again applying the cold water to the fevered skin.

"Do ya remember what happened?" The Pooka asked softly.

"I remember a storm…" Jack said slowly "and then pain, and then…nothing."

"Ya were struck by lightning" Bunny informed gently "but we got you here in time to give ya the proper medical help for your burns."

Jack nodded, closing his eyes as he surrendered to Bunny's ministrations. The rabbit bit his bottom lip, unsure how to continue, but knowing that he needed to ask before charging on to the next topic of conversation.

"Jack…"

"Hm?" the boy hummed absently.

"Were you ever attacked by wolves?"

Blue eyes shot open, and his frail body tensed at the question, causing yet another gasp of pain as injuries were irritated "Why do you want to know?"

Bunny sighed, dragging one paw down his face as he considered how to broach this particular subject "Well" he began slowly "when we found ya, you were snarlin' and snappin', acting like you were some kind of wild animal, I'm just wonderin' how that came about."

Pale cheeks blushed as he considered telling one of his deepest secrets to the Pooka, and finally the boy opened his mouth "It was during my first hundred years alone" He began.

"I didn't know what I was doing, I had no clue how to survive, and all of a sudden a group of wolves move into the territory. I was barely twenty years into my new life, and I had never seen a wolf before, and didn't know what to do. They began to attack and gang up on me whenever they had the chance, thinking me a rival to their territory, and I had no idea how to defend my rights of living in the forest. Then it happened…"

Bunny leaned in closer "What happened?"

"It was dark" Jack began his eyes blank as if he were no longer in the room but was watching what had happened all over again "and I was attacked…the last time. Wolves are smart, they knew that I used my staff as my main weapon and it helped me ride the winds, so one of the smaller wolves stole it away, and then I was cornered. It was a fight or die kind of situation, they wanted to know who was alpha and who had to leave Burgess."

"You fought the leader of the pack…didn't you?" Aster asked in quiet awe.

"Yeah" Jack nodded "I fought him, and I have never had to become so savage or animalistic since. I remember that night, the moon reflecting on the snow, and eventually our blood mingling on the ice. I was messed up pretty badly, but I won, I beat him."

"Jack" Bunny said softly, his eyes filling with concern "The only way to win a battle is either through surrender or to the death…which was it?"

Jack looked down at blankets in shame "I don't have fangs or claws, and so I did what I could to stay alive. That wolf…he wouldn't stay down, he kept getting up, and nothing I did would make him surrender. Our battle ended with both of us on the lake, and I… I made him fall in…I used my powers and made the wolf fall in and…and… drown."

The last word in his explanation was said so softly, Bunny had to strain his ears to hear it, and immediately the Pooka felt his head bow in grief at the experience Jack was forced to endure. Leaning forward, Aster gathered the boy up in his arms, one hand stroking the white head.

"I'm so sorry Jackie" he said softly "I'm so sorry that you had to go through that."

"I didn't want to kill him" Jack's voice wobbled "I didn't want him to die… But I couldn't control myself, and next thing I knew we were fighting and snarling, and I was acting like some kind of monster as I tried to tear at him with my teeth and nails, but it wasn't enough, and I…It's my fault…I murdered him!"

Aster held the boy in a tighter embrace as pale fingers clung to his fur "It wasn't your fault, and don't kick yourself for it. That wolf picked the fight with ya, and he knew what the challenge meant. It is animal instinct to defend your territory or die trying, and I'm sorry that you had to experience that when you were so young, if anything it is my fault. We, I should have been there for you so you never would have had to fight for your life like that. I'm sorry mate, I truly am."

Sobs muffled by fur and muscle began to vibrate through Bunny's shoulder and the Pooka could only sit, hoping that Jack would someday forgive them their neglect. Jack wept, wept for the piece of humanity he had given up in order to just survive his first twenty years of being, wept for the life he had taken in order to keep his home and his life, he wept for the loneliness he was forced to endure every time he came in contact with that pack and had to snarl at them in order to remind them of how merciless and savage he was when in reality his heart broke and his dreams were haunted by the yellow eyes of the alpha who had challenged him. Bunny just sat through it all, murmuring soft reassurances, and stroking the head of hair buried in his chest and shoulder.

Finally, Jack pulled himself from Bunny's arms, wiping his eyes and nose with one hand "Um…" he mumbled "Did North and everyone see?"

Bunny sighed "Yeah snowflake, they did."

Jack head immediately hung as his shoulders deflated in shame, but Bunny gave him a gentle shake, forcing him to straighten up "But they understand, I told them that lightning has strange affects on a person's brain chemistry, and they are just leaving it at that. Don't worry you're hair off, I won't tell 'em about the wolf pack or your fight."

A grateful smile lit the sprite's features, and Bunny breathed a sigh of relief. The next few hours passed in silence, much to the Pooka's surprise, with Jack just lying in his bed one hand tightly clenching Bunny's paw. But soon his eyes drooped, and the teen drifted off into a deep sleep. Bunny heaved a relieved sigh, and then fondly ruffled the white head. He hadn't been expecting that story to come from the snowflake, but he had learned a long time ago not to underestimate the kid. Tucking the blankets tight around the exhausted form, Bunny considered creeping out of the room in order to leave the sprite to dream, but quickly changed his mind. Scooting down, the rabbit made himself comfortable on the bed, ready should Jack need him. The child immediately reacted, flinging one arm around the Pooka and snuggling into his fur. Bunny smiled at the sprite who had affectively become his kid brother, then he too eventually drifted off into a peaceful slumber.

**WHOO! That was harder to write than I thought it would be! Well here it is Midnight Lupus, my interpretation of your request, I hope it is everything you wanted, and it makes your inner fangirl squeal like no tomorrow. See you next time!**


	16. Pooka Jack Part 3

**What's up! So happy to see that everyone is enjoying my little drabble series thus far! It is so weird to be at 10,000 views and triple digit reviews! But I'm not complaining, not in the least bit! So here we go again. I did two fillers, one of which being the one shot request for Midnight Lupus since she was the 100****th**** reviewer, and the other because it just happened to hit my brain that way.**

**I have many MANY ideas bouncing around in my brain, a few of them being, I'm thinking about writing my own interpretation of Jack getting a sugar high(the image is just too cute, and I want to try my hand at it), Jack suffering from a memory flashback during an attack by nightmares on the workshop and his brain gets thrown into the night his father died protecting him and his mother from the British soldiers(Nice angsty little meltdown that can be derived from that when North tries to leave the workshop), and definitely a chapter for Jack and Bunny as Bunny helps Jack patch things up with Jamie. Plus a few more I'm working on in secret that I'm not telling you about.**

**So here is the next chapter of Pooka Jack! I hope you enjoy it!**

**No I don't own ROTG…this is seriously getting tedious…**

"Home?"

Jack looked up at Bunny through bleary eyes as his tired brain kicked in to overdrive. Home was a tree branch in Burgess; he was lying in a really soft warm bed that was so comfortable he could barely muster the motivation to keep his eyes open. Sitting up in slow pained motions, the former winter spirit blinked a few more times, and rubbed his eyes with one paw as he struggled to remember just where he was, and how he managed to get there. Aster chuckled at his confusion.

"You're at the warren mate" he said with a smile "and this is your room."

"My room?" Jack finally got his eyes to focus and gave a look around. What he saw made his jaw drop.

Aster sat back on his heels enjoying the looks of surprise and awe that the kit was giving, his own face was glowing with pride at the accomplishment of designing a room specially made for Jack. But the wonder was cut short when Jack turned back to the Pooka, his brow furrowed with confusion.

"Wait" he said "the last thing I remember is Sandy taking me to North's workshop, how did I end up here?"

"Honestly I don't know," Aster shrugged "I just woke up myself only to find ya here in your room and in your current condition."

"My…what?" a rope of dread curled in the boy's stomach as he suddenly got the feeling that he was forgetting something extremely important.

"Your condition" Aster said with a vague wave of his hand "Your current state of self."

"My…current…state…of self?" Jack repeated numbly as his brain raced to process the rabbit's words.

"Uh…." Aster gave a nervous chuckle as he realized that either, A) the boy did not know about his transformation, or B) he didn't remember the events of the previous night, which left him with quite the problem. How was he supposed to break it to him?

Well Bunny was never one for subtle hints, or gentle revelations, so he just did what he thought was the best way to break the news to the kid "Look down Jackie."

Jack looked down and saw furry white paws, and as the blood drained from his face and his eyes grew wide, he slowly uncovered his legs from the blanket and gazed on his new form. Long legs, covered in snowy white fur, pant less. With a rush, all his memories from the night before crashed through his mind, leaving Jack in a trembling hyperventilating ball of fur. Wringing his hands, the boy tried to regain the composure he had had when he first discovered his transformation, but all attempts to keep himself from freaking out were a failure. A true blue, down to earth, kicking and screaming wig out was about to be in progress.

Furry white hands slowly made their way to his scalp as his breath came faster and faster, until finally Jack let out one solid scream of disbelief. Wide azure eyes looked up as Jack tried to ask Bunny what had happened, and why it had happened but every time he opened his mouth another scream popped out. Bunny fell backwards on to the floor, watching the teen spirit process his current situation, but he couldn't help but feel a smirk at the comical way the boy was reacting. With trembling hands, the former sprite investigated his new body, a scream shrieking from his lips with each discovery.

Jumping from the bed, Jack stumbled through the door, tripping over his feet as he went in search of the bathroom, and a mirror. Bunny raced after him, wincing each time the boy tripped and crashed into a wall, or fell face first onto the floor. Finally, Jack reached his destination; a spacious bathroom carved from marble with a luxurious Jacuzzi bathtub, and polished stone sink countertop. But the boy wasn't interested in appreciating the splendor of his friend's commode; he needed a mirror, NOW! Slipping on the marble flooring of the bathroom, Jack crashed into the sink, his chest heaving as he struggled to breathe. With eyes wide with terror, the boy glanced into the thing that would seal his doom.

His reflection stared back, but this was not the boy that he had gotten used to seeing in the reflection of the water over the past three hundred years. This was a teenage Pooka with white fur, and long ears, who was a tad shorter than Bunny. Wait…EARS?!

Jack reached up and yanked his ears down so that he could see them, and yet another scream burst from his lips "I…Have…EARS?! Rabbit ears! On My HEAD! Oh my…. No! NO! No no no no no NO!"

"Jack, you're fine" Bunny tried to console the currently disconsolate child "It will take a little getting used ta, but it isn't as bad as you think being a rabbit."

"Oh yeah, so says you, Cottontail. But I'm…" Suddenly Jack stopped as a thought hit him. Cotton tail? …..Oh God….…

With a whimper, Jack slowly turned around to look over his shoulder, his teeth biting his lower lips to combat against the shriek that was sure to follow. Looking over and down, Jack saw a fluffy tail, and as another whine slipped from his lips, he gave a heavy swallow and slowly wiggled it, his eyes going back and forth as they followed the motion. With a large wail, the boy melted into a puddle on the floor, his paws covering his eyes as loud groans and shouted words of displeasure echoed throughout the bathroom. Aster sighed at the sight, and tweaked one of the long ears not pinned underneath a furry paw.

"Jackie" the large Pooka spoke sternly though not without some amusement "Ya gotta get yourself together. So ya got turned into a Pooka, it's not all bad as ya think."

"I have a furry TAIL!" Jack wailed "and long donkey ears, how is that not bad?"

"Well…" Aster suddenly stopped as his whiskers twitched "D-donkey ears?"

Jack stayed on the floor, oblivious to the fury building inside of the Easter Bunny "This is so wrong…" he moaned.

"Donkey Ears?"

"I mean… It's one thing to be turned into a bunny, and not remember, but this? This is just so….WRONG!"

"DONKEY EARS?!"

Jack cast an indignant face at the irate rabbit "Bunny, can't you see I'm in the middle of a melt down here?"

Green eyes flashing with intense anger, and his fur bristling with the strength it took not to start yelling his head off, Bunny did the only thing instinct allowed him to do. He stomped on the ground, hard. Jack couldn't explain why, but that one foot stomp caused every fiber in his being to get on alert, and his brain raced with a sudden rush of adrenaline as his new instincts told him to 'Sit down, shut up, and Listen!'. White ears plastered themselves against his downy head in a show of submission, and Jack felt something akin to fear grip his insides, as he curled up into a ball and his azure eyes took in the angry form of his new caretaker.

Aster opened his mouth to begin lecturing the kit, but the sight of him sitting in wide eyed shock, his body a trembling ball of white fluff caused the rabbit to give pause. Cocking his head, he analyzed the situation as the pieces slowly clicked into place on why Jack was acting like that. Suddenly the realization hit like a sack of potatoes, and the Pooka had to swallow back a chuckle. In rabbit language, a hard stomp on the ground conveyed supreme irritation, and anger. It was something that bunnies would do when they were extremely unhappy, or if danger was nearby, it was also used by parents to tell their kits that they were in a heap of trouble. Jack may originally be human, but in his current form, he was dealing with a whole passel of new instincts, and Bunny was intrigued to see how much the kit was influenced by them. Fluffing his fur and raising his ears high to show dominance, Bunny gave one more firm stomp on the ground, effectively making Jack duck his head and give a small squeak of fear as his white chest heaved with the panicked breaths heaving in and out of his chest. The sight made Bunny have to swallow all the giggles that begged to be released that were crawling up his throat, he needed to maintain the stern attitude, Jack needed to learn respect for him now otherwise his time as a Pooka will prove difficult.

"Listen Snowball" Bunny spoke firmly, a growl riding on his words "Whether you like it or not you're a Pooka now, and though I don't know when you will be back to your original body, I need you to understand that I am your guardian from here on out. You need to show me respect, and acknowledge that I am the only person who will be able to teach you how to survive in your current body. Do you understand?"

"I could probably survive on my own…" Jack muttered.

Bunny merely growled and stomped the ground three more times, Jack jumping and scurrying backwards with distressed little hoots with each one. The Easter bunny was trying so hard to maintain a serious and stern face, and he hoped to God that he was succeeding, because Jack freaking out over a stomp like any other kit was just too entertaining. Bunnies don't spank the way humans do, their form of spanking or discipline was stomping on the ground, and the rabbit's instincts were wired to know that that sound was the prelude to their doom in some form or fashion. Be it by a warning of a predator, or be it by mom and dad's wrath.

"What was that Frostbite?" Bunny growled.

"Nothing!" the former winter spirit hooted.

"So does that mean you understand that you listen to me, and respect my authority without sass or degrading insults from now on?"

Jack nodded his head quickly "Yep, I got it."

"Good" Bunny smirked "Now let's get you in something less…torn up."

Jack sighed with relief that Bunny had stopped being so scary and then looked down in sorrow at his hoodie. He loved it, and enjoyed the comfort he derived from it, but if he tried to keep wearing it, it would be impossible to maintain it in a condition that would be fixable after returning to his original form. So, with a sigh, the boy gingerly peeled the now taut piece of fabric off his body. But before tossing it away, Jack remembered his current state, and immediately placed it in front of him. Bunny raised an eyebrow before the pieces clicked into place on why Jack was holding the hoodie in front of him, which only caused the older Pooka to let out a large guffaw.

"What's wrong Snowflake?"

"It's just…um…" Jack felt his ears flush and he lowered them in the attempt to hide the bright pink glowing down their length "I…I don't have…uh…I'm not wearing pants."

Bunny snorted as an explosion of giggles escaped his lips "Sorry to tell ya this mate, but bunnies don't wear daks, you're as dressed as ya get in your current form."

"You've got to be kidding me!" Jack bellowed "I can't walk around nude!"

"I do mate" Bunny shrugged "and you never had a problem with that."

"Well…" Jack scrambled for an answer his face twisted in concentration "that…That's different, I mean, because it's you and you're a rabbit! But me? I'm… I'm just…I'm still technically a boy!"

"Yep" Bunny nodded mirth shining in his eyes "You're a boy Pooka, and I don't have any clothes for ya except the armor I have on hand, but that's about it."

Bunny hopped out of the bathroom towards the winter sprite's room while Jack's shoulders deflated as his brain raced to understand that technically he was nude, but he wasn't actually naked, so it was ok. That thought alone made his mind implode from the sheer effort it took to comprehend. Finally with a sigh of resignation, Jack stood up on wobbly legs, and followed his new caretaker out of the restroom, and back to his room. Once arriving, Aster stood next to the suit of Pooka armor he had crafted, and Jack slowly approached the Easter bunny.

"Here ya go Snowflake" Bunny said proudly gesturing towards the armor "I made this while you were a kit, and I think it will look right nice on ya if I do say so myself."

Jack eyed the armor, his eyes widening as he took in the beautiful detail of the leather and gems. "You" he practically whispered "You made this…for me?"

"Yep!" Aster smirked though his ears turned a soft shade of pink "Don't know why, but I thought that maybe you would like to have it, or might need it someday."

Jack felt tears prick at his eyes "I…I've never had a gift given to me before."

"Well don't just stand there gawkin'!" the rabbit cried, his chest nearly bursting with pride "put it on!"

Jack didn't need to be told twice, with the help of Bunny he strapped the shin guards on his legs, gauntlets onto his wrists, and buckling the staff holster across his chest and situating his staff into the pouch on his back. Hopping on all fours, Jack rushed back to the bathroom and gazed at himself in the mirror. Bunny followed him, and then leaned against the door frame as he watched the young kit admire his reflection. A fond smile lit Aster's face as the white Pooka turned to see himself at all angles on the polished surface. Finally Jack turned to his guardian, a huge smile splitting his face.

"I've gotta admit" Jack grinned "despite the fact that I'm running around naked, I look _really_ cool!"

**Well I hope you guys liked it, I know it isn't much of a chapter since this was the filler chapter that progresses the story and there is not much you can do with the waking up scene LOL but I do hope it is as good as all the others.**

**Remember guys, every 100 viewers, the lucky 100****th**** reviewer gets their very own one shot request, and if you want it, then you have to keep REVIEWING!**

**For now, I'm going to sit back and enjoy the chocolate eggs that I bought at the store last night, and then move on to the chocolate bunny. I'm addicted to chocolate, and yes it can be a breakfast food LOL!**

**Don't forget to write!**


	17. Flashback

**Hi! I am SO sorry that this took so long, but because of my hectic life…I just didn't have the time….**

**So this is to be an angsty one! I know that we are all kind of using our best judgment as far as what time period Jack lived in, and I'm wondering if maybe he wasn't alive during the American revolution; I mean, it's a solid theory, right? So I thought I would make a story where Jack has a memory flashback in the middle of a stressful situation, and it turns into angst/family fluffer nutter. **

**ENJOY!**

**And no….I DON'T OWN ROTG! *sigh* This constant reiteration of how the guardians don't belong to me is cruel and unusual torture…**

"Hurry," North bellowed to his yetis "We must fortify door! Place catapults at windows on all sides of workshop, do not give them foot!"

"That's 'Don't give them an inch'!" Jack cried his staff whirling and twirling as he shot a seemingly endless barrage of sharp icicles out of the window he had been posted at.

North merely shrugged at the correction "Whatever…"

Bunny found himself laughing at the two, his paws merely a blur as he threw exploding egg bombs out his window towards the ebony ocean surrounding the castle "Don't even try snowflake, I've known him for centuries, and he still hasn't gotten the hang of English colloquialisms."

"That is not true Bunny!" the large man cried with an affronted look "I am much better than I was when we first met!"

Tooth sighed and shared an amused shrug with Sandy, pulling the lever on the catapult she was manned with. For the past two hours all the guardians had been defending the North Pole from a large scale attack on the outside by scores of Nightmares. Behind the ocean of black equines stood Pitch, his sharp teeth glistening in the moonlight as he bared them with all the malice he held against the guardians for his defeat. In truth, none of them felt as carefree as they sounded, they were just fending off the onslaught of negative feelings that led to fear, and ultimately powered their enemy.

Unfortunately Jack wasn't fairing that well anyways.

He had somehow managed to plaster his usual mischievous grin across his face as he shot ice out of the window, but his head was beginning to pound, and his vision was starting to get blurry around the edges. Something about this attack seemed all too familiar, and Jack could feel the beginnings of a flashback coming on. The sounds of screams and broken cries began to echo in his ears as the memory slowly came to him, but the winter spirit shook his head, flinging them from his mind. Once again turning to the window, Jack continued his assault against the ebony masses rising against them. Tooth turned to Jack her mouth opened to yell an attempt at a joke, but when she saw a grimace of pain flash across his face, she stopped. Brow furrowing in worry, the Tooth fairy flew towards the boy, one hand gently resting on his shoulder.

"Jack," she asked softly "are you ok?"

Shocked blue eyes rose up to meet hers, but quickly ducked down in embarrassment as he gave a heavy swallow. "Ah…" he chuckled nervously "Yeah, just a killer headache is all."

Tooth's eyes narrowed as she heard Jack's reasoning. She knew about amnesia victims, knew what it did to them just to remember the things that had been lost to them. Headaches were the forerunner to an intense flashback, and judging from their situation, it might be a pretty stressful one. Anything could trigger it, which could mean they might have a delirious winter spirit unable to control his powers on the inside as they tried to fend off foes on the outside. But in the end, there was nothing she could do. Once a memory began to surface, there was no way of suppressing it without hurting the person receiving the memory. Jack was either going to have a flashback now, or later, but it was coming regardless. Choosing to keep this to herself so not to worry Jack, Tooth went back to the battle at hand, hoping against hope that it was simply a headache and nothing more, though in the back of her mind she knew the truth.

Jack watched the fairy fly away, his brain buzzing with warning bells telling him that she was onto him, but he had enough problems of his own right now. The screams echoing from the graves of the past were growing louder and louder in his mind, and Jack had no idea how to fend them off. One eye closed in a harsh wince of pain, the boy gripped his hair with one hand as his vision darkened, throwing him back to a time when he was still human. Darkness; lit only by the occasional torch, and the sounds of screaming ripping through the blackness of night. Jack had been fourteen during then, just two short years before he drowned in the lake and became Jack Frost, and his family was embroiled in what would later be known as the Revolutionary War.

America made war against the British armies in their attempt to gain freedom from their parent stem. In the hope of claiming their right to freedoms previously denied them by a King currently viewed as a tyrant, the people fought tooth and nail in the hopes of obtaining their own land upon which to create their own empire and see their children grow up in strength, honor, dignity, and most of all…Freedom. Jack's father had been a strong advocate of independence, often getting into fights on the street with other men who did not agree with his point of view, and Jack had been raised in a home that longed for the freedoms that their new homeland had to offer.

But one night had changed everything…

Jack's mind reeled as he was thrust into the memory, leaning against the wall he slowly slid down to the floor, his eyes wide with past events playing before them like a ghostly play. He could see it all, the village, his home, and worst of all…his father. Jackson Overland loved his dad. He loved the way his father's heavy footsteps would echo through the house making him and his mom feel safe by the strength of his presence. He loved the way his father always smelled of wood smoke and leather. He loved the way his father would play the fiddle every night before bed, sometimes even pulling his mother up out of her chair to dance a jig that they had brought from their previous homeland. Jack had been taught their trade of tanning hides into leather, how to fiddle, and how to dance in the way of their heritage way back in Ireland.

Unfortunately, the one thing Jack inherited from his father and his homeland was the very thing that cost his father dearly…the Irish temper.

Ireland was known for its brave warriors. Men who had as little fear for death as they did of their own homes, who would bravely charge on a field of battle with their weapons held high, and valued family above all else. Jack's father was no different, having rounded up many of the village's men in hopes of helping contribute to the rebel forces led by Washington, and he was very bold in his declarations of the need for war for the good of the town. He had many opinions about the British, and how much he wanted to make America his new home away from the tyranny in Europe, and everyone eventually heard all of them. They knew he would forever miss his homeland, but the yearning for freedom drove him to leave it in search of new skies. That night however, the British came to their small colony, in search of the man who was causing them so much trouble…and they found him.

Jack had been in the sitting room, practicing on the old fiddle played so often by his father when he had heard banging on the door. His brow furrowed in confusion, he had exchanged looks with his sister before slowly getting up to open the front door only to find a large man in a red coat standing outside their house. The adult glared down his nose at the boy before bellowing out;

"Where is Jackson Overland?"

Jack gave a heavy swallow before straightening his back and matching the British officer glare for glare "He's not here." He ground out.

"Jack?" the boy wilted at the sound of his father's voice as the larger man stomped down the hall and towards the door "Who is there son?"

"Not here, eh?" the officer smirked before addressing the boy's father "I have business to discuss with you concerning matters of a delicate nature."

Jack just growled his distaste before feeling his father's heavy hand squeeze his shoulder reassuringly. Looking up, the boy gazed on the face of the man whom he loved so dearly as he stared down the officer.

"And what," Jackson senior asked slowly in his Irish brogue "would a British officer of the King's military wish to discuss with a humble tanner like me?"

"A humble tanner you may be," the officer snarled "but you are also the man who has brazenly been traveling from village to village crying out for Independence and rounding up men to fight against the King."

"Who's King?" Jackson senior snorted "Certainly not mine, and certainly not my family's. These colonies maybe once belonged to the empire of Great Britain but no longer, and I will no longer bend my knee to any man who declares himself a king. My family and I will live in freedom, away from the tyranny and unfair taxes of Europe."

"Your petty opinions are hardly my concern…" the officer sighed.

"No, neither are your colonies here, which your King has made abundantly clear through his blatant disregard and negligent treatment of this country." Jackson senior sighed "Look, I do not have to go anywhere with you for any crime that you can think of."

"You will if I tell my men to attack your home and kill your family due to your lack of cooperation." The British officer smirked.

Jackson Overland senior froze, his eyes widened at the threat that he could see in his enemy's eyes as a dangerous promise that would be kept if the man did not keep his end of the bargain. Finally, bowing his head, the older man gave a sigh of resignation and nodded. "Proceed then, with your dirty work."

The office gave a wicked grin, and bellowed out the death sentence "You are hereby being accused of acts of betrayal against the crown and the sovereign empire of Great Britain, and as such you will be sentenced to die a traitor's death at the hands of my men."

Jack felt his heart clench in his chest as the words spoken by the British officer sank in "But," he said numbly "but he hasn't done anything wrong! All we want is freedom, how is that wrong?!"

"Shut up boy, unless you want to die with your father!" the officer spat.

"But…!"

"Jack," The Irish lilt, soft with sorrow but hard with the determination to protect his family broke through Jack's objections "get inside with yer mum."

"No!" Jack replied forcefully "I can help, I can fight!"

"Jackson Overland!" The older man bellowed causing Jack to wilt his eyes growing wide at being yelled at by his father.

Jackson senior sighed heavily, and then knelt down in order to look his son in the eye. "You are so strong my son," he said with brown eyes shining with pride "and I would not want anyone else fighting alongside me in our battle for freedom, but this is one battle that ye cannot fight."

"But Da…" Jack began, his chin quivering with the effort it took to hold the sobs in "I don't want to lose you."

Jackson senior gazed deeply into his son's eyes, one hand stroking his head before enveloping him into a crushing hug. Jack sobbed into his father's shoulder, clinging to him as if he hoped that the strength of his embrace alone would save his father. Above them the officer sighed before growling;

"Either come out here quietly, or I will have my men attack your home and burn you and your entire family inside it."

"Be silent!" Jackson senior snarled "Ye are getting my cooperation, the least ye can do is allow me to say my farewell to the lad!"

"Please don't go!" Jack sobbed "We can fight, I can help you win, you don't have to go!"

"Jackson," the man whispered "listen to me lad, I need you to protect your mum."

"I can't" Jack wailed "That's your job, I'm not old enough, you need to stay here!"

"Jackson, listen to me!" with a sigh, Jackson senior finally continued once his son stilled down to a soft whimper "I need you to protect your mum, and your sister. You're the man of the house now, and no matter what, don't let anything happen to them."

With a mute nod, the moments stretched almost into endless slow motion as Jack watched horrified his father stand and walk, his proud head held high, out of the door. The boy followed, screaming for his father, only to be held back by two British soldiers. All around him fires set to the homes that proved less than cooperative raged, and the screams of wives and children shrieked through the night air. Jack was held in place, his mouth agape as he screamed and sobbed, his large brown eyes watching the execution of his father not even a hundred feet away. With a resounding crack from the guns held by British military, the body slumped forward, and the boy was finally released.

Jack lunged forward, his tear stained face screwed in the agony of his heartbreak, and scrabbled on the ground towards his father. The memory slowly came to a close with the last thing Jack Frost saw being him, holding the lifeless form of his father in his arms, wrenching sobs shaking his thin frame. The winter spirit barely comprehended that he was screaming uncontrollably, his pale hands gripping his white hair as wide blue eyes stared unblinking at the ceiling. Tears streamed down his face, only to freeze halfway down his cheeks as his shoulders shook from the heart wrenching sobs ripping from his throat.

Bunny sat, holding the boy in his arms, his nose twitching anxiously as he looked between Toothiana and the sprite "What's do ya mean he's havin' a flashback?" he cried.

"I'm so sorry Aster" Tooth wept "There is nothing I can do. Once a person starts regaining their lost memories, certain events can trigger a recall, and Jack is experiencing a memory all over again as if he were living through it the first time."

"If that is truth," North murmured, his blue eyes gazing on the tortured form of the winter spirit "then I cannot help but wonder what Jack has lived through to make him scream in such a way."

Bunny felt his breath hitch in his throat as his heart clenched in worry for the child sobbing and screaming in his arms. Gathering him close, the rabbit snuffled the boy's temple, trying to reassure him that all was well. The guardians stood there, each quietly processing how to help their youngest member until a loud yell came from outside.

"Oh Guardians!" a mocking voice sang "Come out, come out from wherever you are! Or have you given up?"

"Pitch…" Tooth groaned wearily "What do we do? We can't fight Pitch with Jack in his current condition."

"No, we cannot" North sighed "there is only one thing to do…. I will go out and try to reason with him."

"Reason with him?" Aster snorted incredulously "Ya can't reason with that drongo!"

"Then I will challenge him to one on one fight, but I will not let him keep attacking my home and hurting my family!" North said sternly his eyes ablaze with fiery determination.

Bunny opened his mouth to shoot back a retort but found himself unable to. In truth, a one on one challenge was their best bet. If North won, then Pitch would leave them in peace to lick his wounds, and if he lost, then the Boogeyman would still be weakened enough to be be beaten by the rest of them. Either way, they had little choice. With a nod, Father Christmas stood, and dusted off his knees from where he had been sitting on the floor next to the Pooka.

"It is decided then," he said softly "I will go out to meet Pitch."

The large man turned towards the door, and walked only three or four steps before he was suddenly tackled by a blur of blue and white "NO!"

North whirled around to see bloodshot blue eyes swimming with tears looking up at him as pale fists clenched his coat "Jack?" the man whispered, his brow furrowed in both concern and confusion.

"Y-you can't go…They'll kill you!" Jack shrieked suddenly in Irish accented English "Please, we can fight, I can help, but don't go!"

"Jack, I do not think this is possible, you do not know what you are doing." North looked deeply into the wild azure eyes, usually bright, but now clouded by the fog of the past rearing its ugly head.

"No! I do!" His fists let go of his shirt and pounded on the man's broad chest "I can fight…PLEASE! I don't want to lose you again, don't leave me alone Da!"

North felt his breath catch in his throat as all in the room suddenly forgot how to breathe. Jack collapsed onto the floor, still caught in the throes of his memory, heartbreaking sobs echoing through the stillness of the room.

"I don't want to be alone," he wept "I'm not ready, I'm not strong enough to take care of mum, and Sophie…I can't do it…I'm not brave like you…Please Da, I need you, don't leave me…"

Blue clad arms wrapped themselves around his torso as Jack hugged himself, his body doubling over as screams of grief and pain mingled with the sobs wrenching themselves from his throat. Aster bowed his head, tears trickling down his grey fur, and Tooth sobbed quietly in a corner, and Sandy covered his grief stricken face as they listened to Jack's Irish brogue plea with North not to leave, not to die, not to abandon him. North listened, and with a strangled sob of his own, knelt down to gather the boy in his arms.

"Alright Jack" the large man wept "We'll fight…together, we'll fight, and I won't leave you, not ever!"

"Really?" Jack's azure eyes peeked up at North a relieved grin lighting his face "We'll fight the British, together?"

"Da," North nodded, smiling through his tears "We will."

Suddenly the front door flew open, Pitch striding through, his face painted with disgust at being left alone for so long. "What is wrong with you people?" he spat "Have you forgotten how to defend from a raid?"

Jack's eyes sparked with the word raid, and he sprang up from North's embrace, whirling his staff in a way not seen since the ancient Celtic warriors. Slamming one end across Pitch's jaw, he twirled the wood to swoop low, and knock the Boogey man's feet out from under him. Slamming one foot down on Pitch's chest, Jack shoved the end of his staff just under the nightmare king's nose as a dare to try to move.

"Don't you ever think that you can threaten my family." The boy snarled "My father is the bravest man alive, and will never cooperate with a cowardly dog like you!"

Pitch gaped at the transformation that had taken place in the boy, both in his accent and in his attitude "I think…" the boogey man said slowly "that this is a bad time. Good night."

With an explosion of black sand, Pitch disappeared, beating a hasty retreat leaving Jack standing unsteadily on his feet. A triumphant grin lit his face, and just before he collapsed, the guardians heard him say "Long live the American colonies."

**OK….Took way longer than I wanted, and still didn't turn out the way I hoped…but oh well…**

**We are at 185 reviews! Meaning we are only 15 reviews away from 200, and whoever is the 200****th**** reviewer gets a one shot request of their very own! Rules apply, and to anyone who don't know what they are reread and find the chapter where I posted them. I will repost the rules when I announce the winner. **

**Have a great night!**


	18. Video Game Therapy Part 2

**I DON'T own ROTG…but if I did…..*evil grin***

**Ok, due to the overwhelming response, I am writing the sequel to Video Game therapy. This will be Jamie and Jack making up, with a dash of Bunny in the background.**

**The lucky winner of the one shot request is the guest reviewer Frostfan! As I said, the rules apply, so here is a recap of what I want you guys to keep in mind…**

**I do not do slash(boyxboy or girlxgirl), it is a personal religious conviction of mine, and I would ask that you please respect that.**

**I prefer not to do femJack, or any other gender bending, it just doesn't appease my muse, and I'm unable to write it.**

**Try not to request anything too sadistic. I am a fan of angst, but I do not want my fics to get too dark. I'm naturally a happy positive person, and my stories tend to follow suit.**

**I don't cuss, and neither do my characters. No, I'm not a child, I'm actually an adult, but I tend to lose respect for a person when they cuss. Humans are intelligent, and our vocabulary should convey that.**

**Fluff is a MUST! I'm addicted to fluff! Crying, hurt/comfort, angry outbursts that lead to more crying…it's my candy.**

**Congratulations Frostfan, please put your one shot request in my PM box, or place it in your next review. For everyone who missed out you still have a chance next time, every 100 reviews one lucky reviewer gets to have their very own one shot, and the only way to get that is to KEEP REVIEWING!**

**So here it is, Video game therapy part 2!**

"Bunny, all of a sudden I'm getting second thoughts."

Aster sighed. This statement was not as sudden as Jack claimed; he had been fighting against Jack since they set off. Turning around, he looked at the boy who looking slightly green "Frostbite" the rabbit said with a stern look "You said back at the Pole that you wanted to apologize to Jamie and see about patching things up."

"Yeah, I know" Jack gulped his hands twirling his staff nervously "but Jamie was really mad, and I mean _really_ mad. What if he doesn't want to accept my apology?"

"Jack" Bunny groaned "for the fifty millionth time, Jamie is your friend. He said some things that he probably already regrets in a highly emotional situation, and I'm sure he will be happy to know that you aren't angry at him."

"But what if I am… still mad, that is, is that bad?"

That question stopped the rabbit in his tracks and made him turn around to scrutinize the winter spirit who was currently shuffling uncomfortably, one toe drawing circles in the snow. Dragging one paw down his face, the Pooka heaved a sigh.

"Look Snowflake," he said gently "it isn't wrong to be angry and hurt, especially when it was a trusted friend who said the thing that hurt you, but it's up to you to decide whether or not you want to forgive Jamie and move on. So, do you?"

"Yeah…" Jack mumbled "But what if he doesn't want to be my friend anymore?"

Bunny raised a tolerantly amused eyebrow before striding forward with a huff. Placing one strong paw between Jack's shoulder blades and began pushing the winter sprite through the trees. Jack planted his feet, pushing against Bunny as piles of snow built up around his legs, trying to delay what was going to become the inevitable

"Wait!" the boy yelped "I'm not ready! I still need a few minutes! Come on Bunny…STOP!"

"Nah Kid," the rabbit chuckled "Ya got your time ya needed to compose yourself, an I'll be old and grey before you're ready to go on your own, so off ya pop."

"No!" Jack whined "Not 'off I pop', I don't wanna go yet! Besides, Jamie's probably still mad, and I don't wanna make things worse! Why don't we go back to the pole and I can beat you at JakX again?"

"I beat YOU" Bunny corrected "Now get ya tail in gear, or I'll kick it!"

Wide indignant eyes glared at his adopted older brother, and then finally Jack let out a sigh of resignation "Fine" he grumbled "but if it all falls apart, and Jamie hates my guts, I'm blaming you!"

Bunny let out a long and loud guffaw, highly doubting that such a circumstance would occur "Good luck!" he called as he waved with one exuberant paw.

Jack walked away, Bunny's figure growing smaller and smaller behind him "Yeah" he muttered "Because I'm gonna need it."

Slowly the winter spirit walked down the street, his staff dragging along the ground, his face glaring at the snow as he kicked it forlornly. He felt a burning in his gut as he contemplated what he should say to Jamie, and the back of his head buzzed with anxiety over the situation he was walking into. He hoped that Jamie was no longer angry at him, but he also felt confusion over the fact that he even blew up at him for trying to comfort him. He knew that technically he had done nothing wrong and that only made his confusion worse. What was he supposed to say? 'I'm sorry for being a concerned friend who only wanted to make his friend feel better'? Yeah, that was going to go over well.

Jack sighed, he hated feeling like this, and he didn't know how to deal with it. He just hoped that Jamie didn't kick him out as soon as he saw him. All too soon, the winter sprite reached Jamie's home, and he heaved a groan at the inevitable battle that surely lay ahead. Jack growled as the wind picked him up and deposited him on the roof of the house, obviously the element was siding with Bunny on this one, and the winter sprite didn't know whether to feel grateful for the two of them or be annoyed at them pushing him into patching things up with Jamie. Either way, he was not looking forward to this conversation with his first believer.

Sneaking through the unlocked window, Jack was slightly amused to find his friend roughly in the same state he had been in back at the Pole. IPod blaring hard metal into his ears, the boy was currently engrossed in the same combat racing game that the winter sprite had been playing against Aster. Taking a deep breath, and giving himself a mental kick in the pants; Jack strolled over to the human teen in as casual a way that he could manage.

Taking a seat, the winter teen fiddled with the second controller, both boys remaining silent as Jamie finished out his race by blowing up all the cars in front of him. Just as the replay screen went up, Jack quickly pressed the back option and selected a two player game. Jamie merely grunted as Jack chose the racetrack, and then before they knew it, the game had started. Both boys had their tongues sticking out between clenched teeth as they focused on maintaining the lead. Sometimes Jack would win, sometimes Jamie, but neither spoke a word for at least an hour about why Jack was there in the first place. Finally the winter spirit peeked out from under his long eyelashes, biting his bottom lip nervously, and spoke in a tremulous voice.

"Did you know that Bunny plays video games?"

Jamie coughed, feigning casual conversation "Oh yeah?"

"Uh huh…" Jack grunted.

"He any good?"

"He thinks he is" Jack snickered "but I let him win."

"Yeah" Jamie murmured "he would be pretty obnoxious if you beat him."

"No kidding!" Jack cast a huge grin at Jamie, then quickly remembered that they were supposed to be fighting and once again turned back to the game.

"So…" Jamie said awkwardly.

"So…" Jack said, unfortunately at the same moment.

Both looked at each other and wilted, their attention on decorating the cars currently spinning on the screen. Jack decorated his with his usual blue and silver, while Jamie went for a green and black motif. Once again, the cars were on the racetrack, and they were racing inside an ancient temple ruin that was slowly sinking into a lake of lava. Both were rounding a bend when suddenly Jamie's car spun out of control knocking Jack's car into the lava. The winter sprite winced at the flames surrounding his car, and then sent a comical pout at his friend.

"Thanks man" he groaned "way to throw me under the bus!"

"That's not what I did!" Jamie protested "I lost control of my car and knocked you out of the race on accident, no big deal!"

"Well it's a big deal to me when I'm the one that got destroyed!" Jack shot back barely understanding that they probably weren't talking about cars anymore.

"I didn't mean to hurt you, besides, you're immortal." the human boy shrugged.

"That doesn't mean that I don't feel things like others do!" Jack practically bellowed his eyes darkening with the pain that had previously only been hiding behind the crystal orbs.

"Yeah, I'm a winter spirit," the sprite snapped "but being burned isn't something that I want to experience even as an immortal!"

"Well what do you know about it!" Jamie cried throwing his controller down "it's not like you know what that kind of pain feels like."

"I WAS HUMAN ONCE!"

Jamie jumped back, his brown eyes wide at the agonized cry that ripped itself from the deepest reaches of Jack's soul. The winter spirit stood up, his blue eyes boring holes through his friend, both fists clenched at his sides.

"I was human once…" he repeated softly "and I KNOW what pain feels like! I watched my dad be slaughtered by a British soldier when I was fourteen. The next day, I had to watch my mom scream as she found his body in the front yard, and I had to explain to my sister why he wouldn't wake up. I was the one who had to dig his grave, and I was the one who read the scriptures for his funeral because our pastor had been murdered by the same soldier for preaching in favor of freedom. So don't tell me that I don't know what it feels like to be tossed into a bonfire and have no escape, because you're wrong."

Tears streaked Jamie's cheeks, and as he listened to Jack, he saw that Jack had begun to cry as well. The fourteen year old boy looked at his friend, and bowed his head in guilt and shame. "I'm so sorry" Jamie whispered "I'm sorry that I was cruel, I'm sorry that I said those things without thinking it through, and I'm sorry that I used your past against you."

Jack sighed, one hand wiping his tears as he plopped back down on the ground next to his first believer "Dude" he said in a voice hoarse with emotion "I understand that you are going through a lot of pain, and I know what that feels like, but what hurts is that you won't let me be your friend when I do understand what you are feeling."

Jamie looked up, one hand slowly reaching up before tentatively resting on the winter sprite's thin shoulder "I'm sorry, please forgive me?"

Jack heaved a sigh then cast his mischievous grin at the teen "I already have."

"Good" Jamie sighed before matching Jack grin for grin "So that means you won't take it personally when I show you just how bad you are at video games?"

"Oh puh-leaze!" Jack snorted "Have you already forgotten who I am? Get ready kid, because you haven't even seen what I can do yet!"

"Bring it on!"

Bunny sighed at the conversation, his head shaking slowly as he smiled fondly. Hopping off the roof, and onto the ground, the Pooka took off for the warren fully intent on enjoying a cup of tea and carrot cake while reading a book. Running out of his tunnel, and into his warren, the rabbit sighed in relief that all the chaos had died down. Grabbing his snack, and the book he had yet to finish, Aster collapsed into his favorite armchair and heaved a sigh.

"Teenagers…"

**Hope you guys enjoyed this one, and yes I AM WORKING ON POOKA JACK! Keep your pants on people LOL**

**REVIEWS! I NEED THEM! Once again, we are counting down to 100, let's see who the lucky winner is this time!**


	19. Sleepy Bunny

**Que Pasa!**

**No I don't speak Spanish…but if I'm correct then that should mean 'What's up!', so there we go.**

**This is going to be complete fluff because someone (*cough* Sisaat who writes Winter Child *cough*) all of a sudden got me hooked on the idea of a sleepy Bunny. So WOOTS for me, because you guys get to see one of my absolute favorite plot bunnies (heheh PUN!), which is namely someone sick with a fever. **

**ENJOY!**

"Is he going to be ok?"

Tooth laughed at the concern etched across the winter spirit's face as he hovered over his friend who was currently occupying a couch in the sitting room of the North Pole. It was the day after Easter, and Bunny had once again overworked himself to the point of becoming ill. Tooth and the other two guardians were quite used to this, and checked on the Pooka yearly just to ensure that he had not collapsed with a fever, which unfortunately was the case this year. Jack however was beside himself with worry, and would not leave the ailing rabbit's side.

"Jack," the fairy whispered with an amused smile lighting her features "this happens almost every year. He exhausts himself from overworking, and then manages to get sick with a fever. It isn't anything we haven't dealt with before, he'll be fine."

An endearing pout thrust Jack's bottom lip out as he processed her words and decided that he was definitely not happy with them. Whether anyone acknowledged it or not, Jack was still very much a child, administering medicine and then leaving to allow healing to take place was something only adults did. Jack didn't like seeing things he couldn't understand, especially if those things caused pain, and this whole situation had his stomach in knots. Finally with a sigh and a nod, the boy drug a chair over to the couch and plopped himself down. Crossing his arms, and furrowing his brow, Toothiana knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that the boy was not moving until Bunny was well and awake.

Ruffling the white head, Tooth dropped a kiss on his temple then flew away, leaving the winter sprite with his patient. Jack sat in the chair, listening to the wheezing breaths of his friend as the bunny slept, his throat constricting with worry as he gazed on the ill form of the warrior rabbit. Bringing one hand up to his face, the sprite nibbled on his thumb nail, wracking his brain for anything that could help him make Aster more comfortable. Unfortunately the boy only knew the basics, and his own body chemistry was so wonky he didn't know how to handle someone else with a fever. When he got sick, he would find the deepest snow drift he could and just sleep it off, but what do you do for a bunny?

Jack was jolted out of his reverie by harsh coughing that caused the entire couch to shake from the force of the rabbit's hacking. Stumbling to his feet, the boy stepped over to the couch, one hand resting on Bunny's forehead, his face wincing at the wheezed breaths being pulled into his friend's lungs. Jack pulled his hand away, unable to handle the high temperature raging through Aster's body, and once again found a seat on the chair. He hated feeling so helpless, like he was incapable of doing anything for himself. He had survived for three hundred years by himself, so why in the past year did he all of a sudden find it hard to remember what it was like before the guardians?

Heaving a frustrated groan, Jack stood up and paced around the room, every few seconds his worried gaze switching back over to the sleeping Pooka. It was during this that the rabbit began to kick, causing the sprite to stop his jaw clenched in worry, but it lasted only long enough for him to kick the blanket off and once again settle into a comfortable position into the cushions. A relieved sigh whooshed past Jack's lips as he walked on wobbly legs towards the person who had so efficiently become like a big brother to him. Sitting on the floor, the boy braced his arms on the couch cushion, and laid his head on them, his bright blue eyes memorizing Bunny's sleeping face. Raising one hand, he tentatively stroked the furry head, allowing his fingertips to trail up one side of his ear, and down the other. Focusing all of his winter magic, Jack tried to cool down the fever by running his pale fingers through the fur and stroking the sleeping face.

One foot twitched, and the rabbit gave a soft sigh accompanied by a smile, his head unconsciously nuzzling into the caress. Jack fought a laugh over the tough warrior rabbit looking so cute, and softly scratched Aster behind the ears, his other hand not pausing in stroking his forehead and nose. The foot that twitched, quivered yet again before moving to thump against the couch cushions when Jacks nails scratched a particularly sensitive spot under his ear. The winter spirit giggled at the sight, and was only motivated to continue, that is until the rabbit shivered from the cold. With a gasp Jack jumped back, reaching for the blanket and flinging it over his friend. Biting his bottom lip in worry over possibly making his friend's illness worse, Jack plopped his rear right back into the chair, and twiddled his fingers nervously as he watched for any adverse affects from his winter magic.

"Don' stop…" came a voice slurred by fatigue and fever not even two minutes later.

Jack perked up, his ears twitching at the soft request "You awake Cotton Tail?" he whispered as he slunk forward back to the side of the couch.

"Don' stop" the rabbit repeated tiredly "Felt good."

A snort of laughter exploded from Jack's lips and he nodded his head vigorously "Ok."

Once again pale fingers wound themselves into the soft fur, and once again Aster found himself sighing in pleasure as they chased away the aches and pains accompanying his illness. Jack leaned down so that he was closer to the sleepy Pooka "You going to be ok?" he whispered.

Bunny opened a tired eye and cracked a weak grin "You kidding?" he chuckled softly "I'm tougher than a cut snake, gonna take a lot more than a fever to keep this old bunny down."

"You're not old." Jack snorted.

"Yeah, I am Snowflake" the rabbit shivered his eyes closing in rapture at the strokes being administered to his ears "I'm older than three hundred, and that was before I was ever chosen to be an immortal guardian."

"Seriously?!" The winter spirit's jaw drop as his eyes widened to the size of dish plates.

"Uh-huh" the Pooka nodded vaguely "I'm not even from this planet…Come from a long line of warrior rabbits who are interstellar travelers. I've been around for a while."

"Whoa…" Jack gawped then grinned "So you're like a warrior alien! Do you have special powers? Can you transform? Does your fur turn blonde when you do?"

Bunny found a loud guffaw rocking his frame, but it was quickly overcome by coughing. Jack wilted, feeling guilty for making his friend laugh and thereby causing him to experience pain through the hacking cough that was afflicting him, but it was wiped away when the Pooka granted the boy a fond smiling through the tears collecting in his eyes as he wheezed and gasped for air. Finally the coughing fit subsided, and with a small nudge from Bunny, Jack continued stroking his head.

"Yes, I guess you could say I'm a warrior alien, and I do have certain powers" the rabbit croaked "but I'm no Saiyan ya dag."

"Too bad" Jack pouted "I was hoping that you could turn into a giant rabbit under a full moon, or could shoot energy beams from your fists."

Another chuckle shook the rabbit's frame as he listened to the boy "You watch too many cartoons kid."

Jack gave a shrug that clearly spoke of his apathy towards said comment, mostly because he knew it wasn't going to change any time soon "So what CAN you do?"

"I'm a sorcerer," Aster said softly, his face stretching with a grin when he saw the look of unbridles impressed awe blanket the boy's face.

"Like with Mickey in Fantasia?" Jack whispered, his body wiggling in excitement.

"Like I said, too many cartoons" Bunny chuckled "but yeah, kind of like that."

"Cool!" Jack exclaimed "Could you teach me some someday?"

"Sure" The rabbit slurred his eyes slowly drooping closed "…One day…"

"Awesome!"

Jack happily went back to scratching and stroking, his mind abuzz with what Bunny might teach him in the future, but within the next hour all of his worry and anxiety finally snowballed into an avalanche of fatigue, and the winter spirit found his own eyelids drooping shut as he fell into the sweet embrace of sleep. It wasn't long after that Tooth came back, accompanied by North to check on Bunny and fully expecting to have to fend off an anxious Jack, but both were pleasantly surprised at the sight that greeted them.

Jack sat on the floor, his torso and arms lying across the couch with one arms caught halfway in the motion of stroking one of Bunny's ears. Bunny was also sound asleep, his body curled up in a ball under the blanket. But the most adorable thing about the whole picture was the fact that Jack's head was resting against Bunny's and both were perfectly content to stay that way. Tooth covered her mouth as she fought the huge 'AW!' that wanted to burst from her lips as she ran a tender hand through Jack's hair. The boy shifted, a small sigh slipping from between his lips as he snuggled further against the Pooka until their noses were touching. One of Aster's ears twitched, and he too scooted closer to the comforting cold that was keeping the fever at bay, a sight which of course had Tooth and North looking at each other in amusement.

Sand flew into the room, took one look at the couch and then quickly flew back out only to return with a camera. Snapping a picture, he waited for the picture to slide out of the device, and then held it up triumphantly as all three saw the evidence that he had successfully managed to capture the moment. With a silent nod, the golden man handed the picture over to North, as the three of them snuck out of the room and headed to the large man's study. As they closed the door, Tooth flew in ecstatic circles as she sighed in rapture.

"That was just TOO adorable!" she cooed.

"Indeed" North chuckled "they are more brothers than they think, and I am happy that they have become so close."

Teeth gave a vigorous nod as she watched North reach up and pull out a book from off the bookshelf in his study. Her smile grew much softer as she realized what it was, and she unconsciously flew closer to look at the item. Since the beginning of last year since Jack had joined them, North had made a small agreement with the Sandman, that he would snap candid pictures of the guardians and hand them over to Father Christmas. Whenever Sandy did so, North would add them to the album, writing a small anecdote commemorating whatever it was that the picture spoke of. He intended to present it to his new family at Christmas this upcoming year now that it was full of memories, and he hoped to make it a tradition where each Christmas they would look back on their life over the last year and enjoy laughs over the different memories.

"Yes," North murmured a happy smile lighting his face "this picture will be a nice addition to our family picture album."

"Yeah" Tooth sighed happily "it will."

**I know, I KNOW….I promised that one shot, and Pooka Jack next…but this idea hit me and if I didn't write it, I wouldn't be able to concentrate on any of the other chapters I'm writing for this fic at ALL. **

**So yes, REVIEW GUYS! We are at 223, and that is a pretty decent start from the last one!**

**FrostFan1, I'm working on your one shot, I promise!**


	20. Drowning

**I HAVE NEVER ONCE PROMISED THAT POOKA JACK WAS NEXT…. Just FYI…. But I felt that I owed it to you my fans to show that I could be trusted when it came to writing the one shot requests! Pooka Jack IS being written, but I was wondering if anyone had any ideas for what you might like to see in it? Any ideas for Pooka Jack please be put in reviews or PM me, ok?**

**This is the oneshot for FrostFan1, and their request was a glorious mix of angst and fluff. Woohoo! So read on my pretties, and enjoy this newest installation of my one shot give away series!**

**Once again…*takes deep breath* … I DON'T OWN ROTG!**

"I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts!" Jack sang to a group of eggs at the top of his lungs "There they are a standing in a row, big ones, small ones, some as big as your head…"

"Frostbite!" Aster groaned "I'm tellin' ya mate, if you sing that song one more blinkin' time, I'll throttle ya!"

The winter spirit sent a large grin over to Bunny "If I changed words to make it singing about eggs, would you like the song better?"

"NO!"

Jack pouted then shrugged, turning back to his egg that he was currently painting "Your loss, personally I think the song is great, especially since barely anyone has ever actually heard the full version of it."

"And just where did _you_ hear the full version?" Bunny asked chuckling softly.

"I heard it when it first came out!" the boy exclaimed "You can still find the old black and white film clip of Merv Griffin singing it on youtube though, I discovered that when I made Jamie listen to it."

"I feel bad for Jamie's mum then," Aster smirked "it's bad enough that humans have such a short enough life span, I would hate to spend that time listening to that song over and over."

Jack felt a grin split his face as a loud gale of laughter echoed throughout the warren, making the Pooka smile proudly at having caused such a reaction from the young spirit. Giggling the boy gasped "Yeah, well you have to listen to it for all eternity."

Aster's face paled as he almost dropped the egg from the sheer thought of having that song haunt him till the end of time, which only caused the boy to explode into more raucous giggles. Flinging himself onto his back, the sprite kicked the air as his cheeks grew red from lack of air, a wide grin wreathed on his face. Bunny watched the boy laugh and snort until a malicious grin decorated his own muzzle. Standing up, the Pooka cracked his knuckles, and gave a dangerous laugh that rumbled from deep within his chest.

"A'right ankle biter, ya asked for it now."

Blue eyes sparked in glee as the boy scrambled to his feet and held his hands up in front of him as a fake attempt to placate the rabbit "Come on Bunny" he giggled "I was only joking; I won't sing it for all eternity…only the next three hundred years or so."

"That's three hundred years too long Frostbite!" Aster bellowed as he lunged towards the boy.

Jack squealed with laughter as he ducked and dodged, barely avoiding the rabbit before flying up into the air "Well it's your problem that you can't appreciate fine music!"

"I can hardly categorize that as music ya dag!" Bunny twisted in the air his questing paw missing the pale foot by millimeters.

"Gonna have to do better than that Cottontail!" Jack whooped his thumb resting on his nose as he wiggled his fingers and stuck out his tongue in a 'neener-neener' gesture.

"A'right mate" Aster smiled as he tapped the ground and leapt inside "I will!"

Jack felt his smile shrink just a tad as he cast out his senses, trying to ascertain where the rabbit would appear next, but he wasn't prepared for a tunnel to appear in the wall behind him. Aster lunged through, his arms wrapping around the sprite's waist as he dragged them both to the ground. Jack shrieked with laughter as he wiggled and thrashed, trying to get free from Bunny's hold, but the Pooka held tight, dragging the child towards one of his streams of dye. Jack looked to where they were going, and felt his mouth go dry and his smile disappear completely. Throwing himself into a whirlwind of activity the boy began to scream.

"No Bunny, Stop! Please, don't do this! Bunny…NO!"

"Not on your nelly mate" Bunny cackled, unaware of the boy's true distress "this is revenge for all the times ya dyed my shower water pink."

"No Bunny, you don't understand…!" Jack twisted around in Aster's arms, trying to find a way for the rabbit to see the terror carved into his features.

"I think I do," Aster continued obliviously still thinking that they were playing "you're scared of your comeuppance!"

"Not exactly… but sure, just STOP!"

"Nah way kid."

Jack felt his chest heave as he began to hyperventilate, and with that last spoken word, the Pooka lifted him high in the air, and threw him into the pink dye. But something caught the grinning rabbit's eye, something that made his stomach sink, and his ears droop. As Jack flew through the air, Bunny had expected to see the furious yet happy face of the guardian of fun as he accepted his loss in this their latest tussle, but instead he saw blue eyes wide with fear and a jaw clenched as if it was hold back a shriek of terror. Sitting on the ground, Bunny hunched over, his nose twitching anxiously as he waited for Jack to resurface, but as the minutes ticked by, Bunny got the feeling that he had done something very wrong to their youngest guardian. Bubble surfaced, and a small ripple here and there, but eventually nothing, and that made Bunny's gut feeling grow even worse.

"Frostbite?" the rabbit squeaked a low hoot of distress coming from his lips "Jackie? Jack, ya there mate?"

Nothing, not even a ripple…

"Aw crikey…" Bunny murmured and without a second thought promptly dived in to save the winter child.

Jake thrashed in the thick dye, both hands covering his nose as he fought to keep the air in his lungs. His arms and legs thrashed, and the winter spirit fought to try to resurface but could gain no headway in the liquid. Already his lungs burned, and the boy felt a wave of panic as the walls closed in on him. Drawing his knees up to his chest, the boy clenched his hands into fists as the memories of his death once again washed over him. Flashes of his life, both as a human and as a guardian, played before his eyes and Jack felt the loneliness of death creeping over him. Hands clenching his hair, the boy let out a scream, feeling the liquid enter his mouth and coat his esophagus.

He was drowning, and there was no way to escape.

His mind began to grow fuzzy, and the spots danced in front of his eyes before finally he let himself go. His body relaxed as Jack gave himself up to the darkness, and just as he was about to make the final journey, a strong pair of arms wrapped around him and drug him up towards the surface. Aster pulled them both through the dye, and broke through into the fresh air with a bellowing gasp. Scrambling up the bank, the rabbit splayed the child across the grass, and placed one ear against his chest. His stomach clenched as the Pooka realized that he heard not even the faintest breath. Dye dripping from his ears and nose, the rabbit dove down his paws frantically pumping the boy's chest. Plugging Jack's nose, and tilting his head back, mouth to mouth resuscitation was administered, and then Aster went back to pumping.

Pump, pump, pump, breathe. Pump, pump, pump, breathe.

He continued that repetition for what felt like hours until finally he was rewarded with a gag, and then rolling the child onto his side was able to sigh with relief as a wave of dye was spewed out of the boy's mouth. Jack shuddered and gasped, Bunny pounding on his back in his own attempt of aiding the spirit of ridding himself of any excess liquid still caught in his lungs. Wave after wave of dye flowed from the boy's trembling lips, his eyelids fluttering as he walked the tightrope between consciousness and sleep. Bunny bit his bottom lip, his whiskers trembling as he waited for the boy to say something, anything, to prove that he was truly alive and well. Reaching down, the Pooka gave Jack's shoulder a gentle shake.

"Snowflake?" he asked tremulously "Jackie, ya ok mate?"

Blue eyes flew open, and Jack scrambled back from Bunny with a strangled yelp, his limbs visibly trembling as he crab walked backwards. The boy didn't stop until his back hit the stone wall, and the effect was immediate, his body curled up in a ball with his arms wrapped around his legs; face firmly buried in his knees. Aster hopped over, ears plastered to the back of his head in guilt as he gazed at the young spirit in what could almost be described as fearful concern. Reaching out with one paw, the Pooka attempted to touch the guardian of fun, but winced when Jack flinched, his body shying away from the comfort that Bunny tried to offer.

"Jack?" the rabbit said softly "I'm sorry mate, I didn't know that you couldn't swim."

At first nothing, and Aster wilted from the prolonged silence, but finally Jack spoke "It's fine." was the curt reply.

Bunny's ears twitched, he knew a lie when he heard one, and this was quite obviously a lie. "Nah, mate" he replied gently "It's not. I threw you into that stream without thinking, and that's my fault, I should have thought about whether you can swim or not."

"It doesn't matter."

But Bunny wasn't having any of it. He could tell that the boy was shaken by the experience, literally. His body was still trembling from the shock of almost drowning, and his breath was still coming in ragged gasps. No, the boy was most definitely not fine, and Aster couldn't help but wonder if it wasn't stemming from something deeper than even he knew. Crouching onto all fours, the Pooka hopped forward until his nose was touching the boy's temple, and snuffled him softly with a gentle nudge. Peeking through the tangle of arms and hands covering his face from view, Bunny saw the boy's bottom lip begin to tremble as his chin wrinkled up and quivered. Once again nudging his head, the rabbit gave another low hoot.

"Jackie…?" he practically whispered "Ya gonna be ok kid?"

Nothing. The Pooka watched as the thin shoulders twitched and jumped from the effort it took not to melt into a ball of tears. "Oi Snowflake, ya a'right?"

Finally Jack shook his head, conveying that 'no, he was not alright, and probably wouldn't be for a while yet'. Bunny sat next to the kid, his ears drooping with guilt as he sat feeling completely useless against the distress that the boy was feeling. "Uh…" he began slowly "I'm sorry…"

"Stop apologizing!" Jack suddenly exploded his blue eyes swimming with tears finally rising to meet Bunny's. "The more you say it, the less sincere it sounds!"

"Look kid," Bunny sighed "I don't even know what I'm apologizing for, but I know that I crossed the line…"

"You shouldn't have thrown me in…" Jack interrupted his eyes darkening with the hurt of being betrayed "I told you to stop, but you didn't!"

Bunny deflated at the truth in Jack's statement "Yeah, yer right kid… I'm-"

"Don't apologize when you don't mean it!" the winter spirit broke in again "if you feel so bad, then why did you do it in the first place?"

"Oi!" Aster's ears perked up to full height "I know I did something wrong today, and I'm ready to make things right, but don't pull that tone with me! I can name a few times where you pulled a prank in the name of fun that didn't turn out too well!"

"But nothing that could have killed anyone," the immortal teen protested "I may have pulled a few pranks that turned out pretty badly, but I never endangered anyone's life!"

"How am I supposed to know what will endanger your life when you don't tell us anything or let us in on what you can and can't do?" Aster bellowed back.

Jack's mouth opened in order to shoot back a retort, but all protests died as quickly as they were born. Bunny took this opportunity in order to continue his rant.

"I mean, seriously Jack," the rabbit spluttered one aggravated paw running through the fur on his head "you disappear for weeks on end making us nearly worry ourselves to death. Every time things get too difficult for you, or make you uncomfortable you take off without a word to anyone without any way for us to find ya! We try to get to know ya, we try to make ya understand that we're your family, but you won't let us get close enough to see what you're thinking. Today could have been avoided if you had just been honest with us!"

"Honest about what?" Jack yelled "Honest about my fears? About the nightmares that keep me from having a decent night's sleep? Or how about the fact that I just recently got my memories back and I found out that I had DIED!?"

"That's a start!" Bunny yelled before his face went blank when his brain finally processed Jack's words "Wait…What?"

"I d-d-" the winter spirit's voice broke as he struggled to finish the sentence before he was finally able to spit it out "…died… a long time ago…before I was ever Jack Frost."

"I…I…" Bunny's mouth opened and closed as he struggled to find the words to accurately convey his shock before he was finally able to squeak "How?"

"Drowning…I drowned saving the life of my younger sister." Tears began their lonely trek down the agonized face of the youngest guardian "I died with the last thing I see being an unbreakable ceiling of ice. I died in the cold, in the dark, and completely alone!"

Bunny felt a harsh wince overtake him at Jack's words as his head bowed in grief, understanding washing over him in icy waves. Jack stood there in front of him, his eyes glued to the grass beneath him as both of his fists clenched and unclenched at his sides. His breath coming in sporadic shuddering gasps, the boy fought to continue his words, and discovering just how difficult they were to say.

"I h-haven't told anyone," he sobbed his face growing increasingly bitter as his tone became sarcastic "because how do you say that you died? What, am I supposed to just arrive at dinner and say 'Hey guys, thought you would like to know, I have nightmares about water because I died drowning to save my sister from falling through weak ice when I was still human, but it's ok because even though I can't swim I'm pretty sure I have a grasp on this thing, I mean I was alone for three hundred years, so I think I know how to avoid falling into water'?"

Aster tried to muster up the words to reply, but could only manage a shrug, his brain still reeling from the discovery. Jack snorted in derision at the Pooka's helplessness.

"What Bunny, you finally run out of insults?" the boy muttered bitterly "You know what it's like being alone for centuries, having nightmares about water, and dying, not knowing why? And then all of a sudden I get my memories back, and it all makes sense, but now I almost hate my element because it's what killed me. Snow and ice bring pain and misery, it kills people, and I know this because I experienced it firsthand! I don't know whether I still love or hate snow, all I know is the one thing that I can't forget… that I DIED, and I'm terrified of water because I can't swim and if I try, I'm scared that my powers will only make me die again!"

Aster reached out for the boy, but Jack pulled away, his face hard with pain and grief "Don't act like you know what I'm going through," he spat "You were invisible for only one day, I've been invisible for three centuries, so don't even think you have any idea how I feel, because you don't!"

Bunny felt an immense pain stab his heart from Jack's words, but then as he measured the child standing before him, he realized that despite all the bitter words and accusations, what Jack truly needed was for someone to show him that he wasn't going to be left floating in an endless lonely abyss anymore. Without another thought, the rabbit reached forward and wrapped the boy in a hug, his strong arms holding the child close as he tried to, in some way shape or form, transfer hope and comfort to the lonely soul trapped within winter's embrace.

"Let me go!" Jack screeched "You're only doing this to make yourself feel better, you don't care, so just let me go!"

"Nah mate," Bunny sighed tears rolling from his eyes and staining his fur "I'm not lettin' ya go, not now, not eva'. The fact of the matter is, I betrayed ya by leavin' ya alone all those years. Me, North, Tooth, even Sandy; we all failed in our duty as guardians by not makin' sure you knew that you had a family, and that is our mistake that we need to make up for. So I'm startin' now. I'll be there to pull you out when you get in over your head, I'll be there to light a candle when the dark overwhelms ya, and I'll be there to make sure that you're never alone ever again. That's what family, what brothers, is for."

The small form that had been thrashing within Bunny's embrace stilled, listening intently to the Pooka's words, and losing any semblance of composure that he had had left. Fat tears rolled down his cheeks, and heart wrenching sobs wracked his frame while pale fists clenched Bunny's fur in a desperate grip. Kneeling down, the rabbit held Jack in his arms, one paw rubbing the thin back as he whispered words of reassurance and comfort. The winter spirit allowed himself to be held as he wept into Aster's shoulder, all of the pain that he had bottled up inside since learning about his untimely death finally finding an outlet. Finally after a good ten minutes, the boy sat up, his hands wiping his eyes quickly as he felt a deep blush of embarrassment over his meltdown spread across his face.

Bunny smiled fondly, ruffling the boy's head "Feel betta'?"

"Yeah, yeah I do" Jack croaked finally looking up to meet the rabbit's eyes with a face shining with gratitude, but the moment was broken when the blue orbs widened and a snorted giggle exploded from the child's mouth.

"What's wrong now ya dag?" Bunny sighed.

"Y-you," Jack giggled "You're pink!"

A smile quirked one side of the Pooka's mouth "Yeah, and so are you Frostbite."

Jack looked down to see that his skin, hair, and clothes were all dyed an obnoxious shade of hot pink before he looked up again and exploded into another round of laughter in the rabbit's face. Aster sighed, shaking his head, and shrugged helplessly.

"Oh yeah, laugh now Snowflake" he chuckled "but because of our touching little talk, the paint has had time to set, you aren't turning back to ya normal state for at least a week."

Jack stopped laughing, his jaw dropping in disbelief "ARE YOU SERIOUS?!"

**Once again, if anyone has any ideas for Pooka Jack, and what you would like to see in it, please place them in your review, or in a PM. I promise, the next chapter WILL be Pooka Jack, I just have to start writing it.**

**THANKS! And REVIEW!**


	21. Pooka Jack Part 4

**Welcome back everyone! I know that you guys are going stir crazy for the next installation of Pooka Jack and have all been practically begging for me to return to the story, which I am. I only wanted to write a few one shots and think up more in terms of the plotline for it before I attempted part 4, but that is now past, so here we go!**

**As always…I do not own ROTG…**

Not too far away from Jack's lake near Burgess, a hole in the ground with the twisted remains of a wooden bed frame sat in the middle of the forest. The weather was cold, and snow covered the ground, but none dared fall near the ominous tunnel leading deep into the earth. No flowers grew, brown grass surrounded the place, and even sunlight shunned the area. It was here that the trickster Chikashi was seen, his light footsteps carrying him ever closer to the point of entry to the lair of the Nightmare King.

Creeping up slowly, the Native American spirit gave a heavy gulp of apprehension at the foreboding darkness permeating the hole, and for a split second, he almost decided to abandon his mission. But a firm headshake and a mental kick in the pants quickly cured him of said urge, and without further ado, the spirit jumped into the hole feet first. He tumbled and bumped, until sliding on his rear to a stop in a tunnel with long stalactites hanging from the ceiling. Once again a shiver shook the spirit to his core as he examined the passageway in front of him, the fact that it looked very much like the gaping maw of a hungry animal ready to chew him up and spit him out was not lost on him.

"Gah!" Chikashi groaned with a frustrated punch to the floor "Get yourself together, you came here with a purpose, and no scary front door is going to deter you from that!"

"Interesting little pep talk you have there…" a silky smooth voice commented from the shadows soon accompanied by the appearance of a tall man in a black trench coat "but very few people make into my home, and much less make it out alive. I suggest you leave while you still have a head."

"I think you mean 'leave, while I'm ahead'" the Native American spirit corrected through lips trembling in fear.

"No," the man replied with lips curled in a distinct sneer "I didn't."

Chikashi gulped, one hand unconsciously rubbing his neck "I can't leave," he began tremulously "I have a proposition for you."

"Not another thrill seeker," Pitch groaned "if you're considering partnering up with me in the hopes of world domination, stop right there. I don't do partnerships, the last time I considered one turned out…badly, to say the least."

"Actually I merely want your help on one thing," Chikashi spoke, leaning against the wall in feigned casual conversation "revenge."

Pitch rolled his eyes at the spirit's attempt to seem cool and in control "Oh," he snorted sarcastically "and whom do you wish revenge against?"

"Jack Frost"

All sarcasm left the Boogeyman's face, and his eyes sparked with genuine interest "Jack, you say? And what business do you have with Frost?"

"Well not just Frost," Chikashi gave a petulant grin his arms crossing across his chest in self satisfaction at making Pitch interested in hearing him out "MiM as well, but it will mostly deal with Jack."

"Saying that your proposition sounds interesting would be giving you too much credit," Pitch smirked "but if you impress me in the next five minutes, I might help you; so why the interest in Jack?"

"I was the original Trickster!" Chikashi snarled "I'm older and far more qualified to have been the Guardian of Fun, plus I've been invisible for far longer, Jack has no right being chosen as a guardian!"

"Boring…" Pitch sighed "…Four minutes…"

"Last month I turned Jack into a baby Pooka," the older trickster said his voice speeding up in desperation "and I was going to kidnap him in order to make him suffer, but my plan failed!"

"Snore…" the Boogeyman picked at his nails "…Three minutes…"

"Now I need your help!" Chikashi practically shrieked "I want to make MiM suffer by forcing him to watch his pet project fail!"

"And you do you plan on doing that?" Pitch asked in a monotone voice "…Two minutes…"

"One of my informants, the South Wind, informed me that Jack somehow got turned into a Pooka again, and he has no access to his powers, now is the perfect time to attack and take revenge for the wrongs committed against us!"

Chikashi braced himself against the wall, his chest heaving as he panted to catch his breath, desperately hoping that luck was on his side and Pitch would decide to help him, and it would seem that luck was. Pitch felt a slow smile light his face, twisting his features to resemble that of a hungry shark eyeing his prey, and then turned to the Native American spirit.

"Now that," he whispered maliciously "is interesting."

"If we move now," Chikashi gasped "we would have a better chance of defeating the winter spirit once and for all. He's as good as mortal, and without his ice powers, he's helpless!"

"I like it…" the Boogeyman nodded.

"So…" the trickster gulped "we have a deal?"

"Yes."

….

"A'right Snowball,"

"Jack…"

"Jack… One last time, this is how ya make a tunnel."

Back in the warren, Bunny was attempting Jack a few of the most basic sorcery tips that all Pooka's needed to know, the first being tunnel manipulation. For well over an hour Aster has had Jack tap dancing all over the grass, stomping, stepping, and tapping as he tried to open his first true blue tunnel. But the winter child was having more than a few problems with the concept.

"Remember," Bunny said patiently "you need to focus on where you are, and where you're goin'. Think about ya tunnel, and picture it in ya mind, and when all of those thoughts squish together, tap the ground…like so."

Once again Bunny demonstrated a perfect tunnel, and once again, Jack sighed in hopeless defeat. Glaring at the perfectly round rabbit hole created by his caretaker, the boy gave a shrug and closed his eyes, thinking about Aster's words and trying his best to put them into practice. Breathing in and out, the boy squished his thoughts together, and then with a hesitant foot, tapped the ground.

Of course since his eyes were closed, Jack didn't see his hole form itself, though the sound of Bunny's scream as he fell down it was enough to have Jack's eyes flying open just in time to see grey ears disappear underground. The former winter spirit froze, his wide eyes staring at the impossible hole, and suddenly a scream bellowed out from his mouth.

"BUNNY!" he cried as he hopped to the edge of the hole and peered in, his nose twitching in anxiety "I'm SO sorry! Bunny? Cottontail? ...Aster?"

No answer and Jack plopped onto the grass, his paws clutching his ears as if they were the hood of his sweatshirt "Oh God…." He hooted "I killed him…I KILLED the EASTER BUNNY!"

Right before the teen could melt into a round of hysterics, a chuckling guffaw echoed from a new hole forming behind him, and with a long bound, Bunny popped out of it, his face wreathed in an amused smile "Nah mate," he laughed "I'm not dead, but I think we should take a break from hole manipulation for a bit."

Jack promptly tackled the larger Pooka, his ears dropping to the back of his head in guilt as he rubbed his head and chin against Bunny. "I'm so happy you're not dead!" Jack wailed ecstatically touching noses with his caretaker.

Bunny just sat there, his face an amused smirk as he waited for Jack to realize that he was once again being influenced by Pooka instincts, he didn't have to wait long. Jack stopped mid rub, and quickly stepped away, his ears turning pink as he casually scratched his cheek with a hind paw.

"I mean," he amended with a quick clearing of his throat "I'm glad that you weren't hurt, it wouldn't be good if the Easter Bunny died just a few months away from Easter."

Bunny laughed at the boy's discomfort, knowing that to most humans showing affection through physical touch was already strange, but for Jack is was entirely foreign. The kid spent three hundred years in complete isolation, used to being walked through by the general populace, and thereby found it difficult to accept hugs from even the guardians. But the instincts of a rabbit are clearly programmed towards such shows of affection, and Bunny knew that Jack was probably struggling to understand that. At any rate, the Pooka was just happy to have another one of his kind back, even if it was just for a little time.

"Uh…" Bunny was jolted out of his reverie by Jack's hesitant voice "So, what do we do now?"

"Hmm…" Aster made a show of thinking, one finger tapping his chin as he pondered Jack's question "Well…"

Slinking forward, Bunny leapt into the air, and slammed his feet into Jack's side "You're it!"

The former winter spirit picked himself off of the ground, and shook his head, a delighted grin lighting his face "Aw, it's on Cottontail!"

**I know…It's short…But I have a crazy horrible headache from spending too much time around people who smoke, and the fumes really got to me. I promise to update with an uber cute scene that is coming up in the next installment of Pooka Jack, but until then, I'm going to go to sleep and pray that this headache goes away.**

**We are currently at 266 reviews, which means that if you guys try hard, you can make it to 300, and the 300****th**** reviewer gets a one shot. I have a new rule, and that is;**

**I have noticed that there are many new people who are posting more than one review per day with each chapter that they read, and so in light of that fact, everyone is allowed to post at least two reviews per day. I give you permission to review and then pace yourself to see if you can make it as the lucky winner. Let's see some action out there!**


	22. Sugar Rush

**So…who's up for Jack acting all hyper due to candy overdose?**

**I am writing this as an ode to Easter, and I thought it would be fun to have Bunny let Jack have his own private Easter egg hunt at the warren, and it turns into something a lot more funny as he starts to fill up on sugar.**

**No…I do not own ROTG…evil people**

"Jack" Toothiana chuckled "You need to keep your eyes closed."

Jack squirmed on the grass, his eyes clenched shut, though one persisted in trying to peek open. "Aw come on." The winter sprite moaned "You guys drag me down here, and then you plop me down on the grass and order me to keep my eyes shut, you really expect me not to be curious about what's going on?"

"Because it's a surprise" Tooth sighed with a fond smile.

"Like _that_ makes keeping my eyes shut any easier!" Jack groaned.

"Well ya can stop your whining" Bunny voice shouted from his right, heavy footsteps walking up to where the winter sprite sat "Go 'head and open your eyes!"

The guardian of fun opened his eyes, quickly rubbing them as the figures of the four guardians came into focus. Excitedly he looked around, his azure orbs bouncing around the entire area of the warren, but his face took on a pout when he saw nothing. Looking back towards his new family, Jack cocked his eyebrow in confusion, feeling a keen sense of disappointment burst inside his chest; but he smothered that emotion by playing it as a joke. One fist placed in front of his mouth, Jack feigned a grin, and fake coughed a small laugh.

"Um…" the winter spirit snickered "I love it?"

North gripped his stomach as he bellowed out one of his typical laughs. "Is ok Jack, the surprise is hidden, and you must find it."

"Hidden?" Jack perked up as soon as the surprise the guardians had set up for him became a game "How do I find it?"

"We are not allowed to tell ya," Bunny said with a wink "but I _can_ give ya a hint."

Hopping forward, the Pooka pulled out an item he had been hiding behind his back since he had told Jack to open his eyes. Placing it in front of the winter spirit, Aster chuckled as the boy gazed in wonder at the object. It was an Easter basket, specially crafted and designed for Jack. The wicker had been weaved and knotted in intricate knots that were made to resemble snowflakes, painted in various hues of blue, navy, white and silver, the basket itself was certainly a work of art. Jack picked it up with gentle hands, his eyes wide, and mouth slowly pulling into a delighted grin. But the smile disappeared when he peeked into the basket and spied a letter. Reaching inside, he sent a quick glance up at the guardians, but after they sent him encouragement to open it he shrugged and opened the envelope.

_Frostbite,_

_You have the next six hours to find a surprise hidden for you somewhere in the warren. Your only hint for how to find it is the basket, and the three snowflakes inside of the envelope. Each one represents one question that you can ask me and I have to answer truthfully, but once you run out of Snowflakes, I'm keeping my trap shut, so you better choose your questions wisely. _

_Have fun,_

_Bunny_

Jack picked up the envelope and shook out three snowflakes crafted from ice, and glowing with magic. Holding them in his hand, Jack pursed his lips as he thought about his questions. He already had solved the hint about how to find his surprise, no doubt there were eggs hidden around the warren that had been decorated in similar colors and snowflakes like his basket, and he had to find them in order to find some kind of clue leading to where the surprise was. No, his first question was something entirely different. Standing up, the boy slowly approached Bunny, his face smirking as the Pooka's whiskers twitched in barely concealed excitement.

"Ok" Jack said with a grin as he held up one of the snowflakes "My first question."

Bunny swallowed the urge to share a smile with the sprite but instead adopted a serious attitude, and molded his features into that of what he hoped resembled a creature of vast wisdom. "Proceed" he intoned in a gravelly voice, but everyone could hear the laughter bubbling just below the surface.

Jack hesitated, his breath catching in his throat as he considered if he really wanted to ask his question, but then charged ahead "Why are you doing this for me?"

Bunny felt his breath catch in his throat, and his eyes bugged out "W-what?" he squeaked.

"Why are you doing this for me?" Jack repeated slowly before quickly whipping out his finger only to point it at the rabbit "Just so you know, repeating my question doesn't count as two questions, got it?"

Aster nodded quickly, then shook his head "Wait Jackie, why do ya want to waste one of ya snowflakes on a question that has nothing ta do with the game?"

"Because I don't need them," Jack shrugged as he casually leaned on his staff "I mean, I _am_ the spirit of Fun, which means that I have a pretty good talent for solving puzzles and winning games. But what I want to know is why the Easter Bunny, the guy who usually tries to keep me out of his warren and avoids cold like no tomorrow at all costs, has willingly crafted a game with a surprise at the end for me IN the warren."

"Uh…Well…I…um…" Bunny spluttered his eyes whirling to the other guardians pleading for their help.

"Go on Bunny" North prodded, his face growing pink from the suppressed chuckles threatening to spill forth "The rules say, one snowflake, one truth. You cannot go back on promise, da?"

"Uh…" Bunny's green eyes widened before he sighed, shoulders deflating in defeat "fine, ya win. Last Easter, we were all pretty cruel to ya, and I…I wanted to make it up to ya by giving ya your own Easter egg hunt, and a little surprise to apologize and officially welcome ya as part of the family."

Aster stood there, his head hanging low as he bashfully rubbed the back of his neck with one paw. Jack stood in complete shock at the answer as he gazed at the normally gruff bunny finally soften and allow Jack to see that he did genuinely care. "Was this all your idea?" the sprite practically whispered in awe.

"Uh…Yeah," Bunny nodded his ears going back in embarrassment at all the attention "Yeah it was."

A huge grin split Jack's face, and before anyone else could say anything else, he lunged forward and wrapped the Pooka in a tight hug. Aster stood stock still, his face blank with shock as his brain raced to process just who was gripping his fur tightly and snuggling their face into his fur. Slowly, the rabbit felt a smile grace his muzzle, and he brought his arms up to hug the boy back. Wet tears seeped through his fur, and Aster had to swallow down the ball of emotion getting lodged in his own throat at the sheer amount of gratitude flowing from the boy without him donning a mask or putting on his usual hellion act.

Finally Jack pulled back, swiping his eyes quickly so that the others wouldn't see his momentary meltdown, and then flipped the snowflake in the air like a coin towards the Pooka before turning to walk away.

"Oi Frostbite!"

Jack turned around to face the Pooka, only to see a smirk full of mischief spread across the furry face. Raising one hand, the bunny held up two fingers, and his smirk widened to a grin "That'll be _two_ snowflakes, mate."

"What?!" Jack exclaimed "What do you mean TWO snowflakes?!"

"Two questions, two snowflakes…" Aster sniffed.

Jack immediately face palmed as he remembered his second question "But…" the boy spluttered "That was asked in an emotional moment, it doesn't count!"

"Yes it does." The rabbit coughed.

Jack opened his mouth to argue, but found he couldn't; the rules were the rules, besides, if he only had six hours to find his surprise, then he needed to get a move on. So with a glare loaded with tolerant amusement, the boy all but threw the second snowflake at the bunny before grabbing his basket and flying off in the opposite direction. Bunny's laugh echoed behind him as the boy took off across the warren, his keen eyes searching for anything that was blue or had snowflake designs. Finally he felt a jolt as he saw his first egg. Flying down, the boy picked it up to find it was an egg crafted by ice, and painted in paint normally used on stained glass windows. To say that the effect was stunning would be an understatement. Flipping it around in his hands, the boy noticed that the egg had a hinge on one side, turning it around, the sprite grinned when he saw the clasp and opened the egg eagerly. Inside laid chocolate coins, and a small piece of paper with letters written in sparkling gold lettering.

"_The"_

"The?" Jack wondered before shrugging his shoulders and popping the chocolate coins into his mouth.

The winter sprite closed his eyes in mini rapture as the flavor of the chocolate burst across his tongue and sent tingles up his spine. Opening his eyes, he licked his lips and then set off to find his next egg, a grin spread wide on his face.

Egg after egg, the boy zipped around in a way reminiscent of the Tooth Fairy, his basket becoming loaded with eggs. They all had a piece of paper inside accompanied by chocolate coins. Some of the papers had one word on them; others had squares of paper with pictures on them that resembled a piece of a jigsaw puzzle. Jack sat on a stone golem, his blue eyes staring in concentration at the last snowflake in his hand, and he pursed his lips in thought. Should he spend it? It would be a good idea to know how many eggs he had left so that he wouldn't waste time looking for eggs that didn't exist, but at the same time, he wasn't sure if that was a good enough question to spend his last snowflake on.

Suddenly the sunlight glinted off something in the bushes, and Jack cocked his head as he squinted his eyes to get a better look. A grin quickly blossomed as he noticed another egg, and immediately dove down to grab it. Once again opening the clasp, Jack popped the candy into his mouth and glanced at the paper, it was a corner edge piece, the last one, which meant he had collected all the edge pieces and only had the middle to worry about of the map. As he put the egg into his basket, Jack felt something very queer happen in his nervous system. All of a sudden, things began to feel like they had slowed down to a crawl, and Jack felt his brain begin to buzz and spark.

A strange urge to giggle almost overwhelmed him, but Jack clamped his hands over his mouth before the sound came out. That was when he noticed he had somehow started bouncing on his toes, and the urge to laugh was becoming even stronger. Casting his eyes around, the boy searched for something to help him maintain his sanity, but the thing his eyes landed on did not help in the least bit. Suddenly the Easter basket and its contents glimmered even more brightly, the colors dancing as they shone in the sunlight. As Jack watched, entranced by the glitter of the sunlight on ice and paint, the first of many maniacal giggles crawled its way up his throat.

"Egg" he snickered "I. Have. Eggs! In a BASKET! And I'm on a scavenger hunt for a SURPRISE!"

Jack bounced on his toes some more as his eyes closed and his fists came on either side of his head as he pumped the air in apparent victory all the while bouncing up and down "This is so COOL!"

Thus began mayhem…

Jack took off through the trees, alternating between flying and running around giggling his head off. The guardians watched him spiral further and further out of control in his sugar rush, their eyes following his movements as he ran down the side of one hill shouting nonsensical words mixed with shrieks of glee, and then watched as he flew up into the air and smacked into one of the many stone arches around the warren. Bunny winced as the boy fell down and landed with a loud crash in a section of bushes he had carefully pruned not even two days before. Tooth stared at the crash site; one eye twitching as the sprite popped back up seemingly unharmed and once again set off running.

"What" she began slowly as her voice built in volume "did you put in those chocolates Bunny?!"

"Look Sheila" Aster said his paws up in a defensive stance "I made a game that had an element from each of us inside it. North Carved the eggs, I painted them, the letters are written in gold lettering like Sandy's dream sand, and the chocolate coins look like the quarters you leave under pillows. I didn't know that the kid would get a sugar high from a just few of them!"

Sandy gave a silent laugh as he sent across pictures that clearly said _"A few? Try a few dozen!"_

"'F' is for friends who do stuff together!" a wild voice sang raucously in the background.

"A few DOZEN!?" Tooth shrieked.

"'U' is for You and Me!"

Bunny shrugged his eyes widening with guilt and genuine shock at Jack's current condition "I needed to cut the map into as many pieces as possible to make the egg hunt interesting!"

"'N' is for Anywhere and ANY TIME AT ALL!"

Toothiana's jaw dropped "Yeah, and because of your poor planning skills, Jack is now not only sugar high, but his poor teeth are gonna be ruined!"

"Here with my best buddies!" Jack finished his song with a delighted giggle as he danced around in a circle.

Bunny watched the boy jig in slack jawed shock "I don't think that his teeth are what we should be worried about…I'm more concerned for the kid's brain."

"Indeed…" North nodded almost solemnly his blue eyes twinkling with amusement "I fear Jack is headed for what they call 'Burn out'."

Aster nodded slowly, his mouth growing wide with the grin as he watched the child's antics begin to hit a fever pitch "Yeah, and I hope it happens soon, otherwise the poor kid's heart is liable to burst!"

Sandy was doubled over in a silent laughing fit, his legs kicking as he lost all control over Jack's hyper goofiness, while at the same time snapping various pictures of all the things Jack was doing. After multiple pictures of the spirit jumping, laughing, and dancing around in circles, gold sand coaxed the boy over to them, and soon the winter sprite chased it down, once again rejoining the guardians, his face glowing with the grin currently decorating it. Plopping down on his rear, the kid dumped out his basket and promptly began opening his eggs to fetch the pieces of paper. In a flash he had the pictures separated from the words, and even had the message in the words deciphered.

"X Marks the Spot"

"X marks the spot…" Jack read aloud before fetching all the pictures "OH! It's a map!"

Suddenly Jack disappeared in a blur of motion, his hands flew as they put the pieces of picture together, but as he sat still focusing on piecing the puzzle into its rightful state, another strange thing happened…Jack yawned. His hands began to feel like they weighed ten tons, and his eyelids were at least double that estimation. Over and over, the boy found his mouth stretching wide from the yawns now plaguing him, one was so wide his jaw actually popped.

The guardians watched his progression from wild and full of energy, to practically drooping with fatigue. With a knowing smile, Aster poked North, his paw held up as he counted down.

"Check it out," Bunny whispered with a smirk "…5…"

Jack yawned, one hand rubbing his eyes, and his nose wrinkling as he struggled to focus on the map.

"…4…"

The winter spirit's head drooped, only to snap back up and give a vigorous shake.

"…3…"

Now his eyes were practically crossed as he fought to maintain consciousness.

"…2…"

Jack's back hunched as he slowly fell forward, his eyes drifting closed as he fell face first onto the soft green grass.

"…1…"

A snore drifted up from the now unconscious child, and Tooth held back a giggle as Bunny and North fought off the deep laugh threatening to overwhelm them. Sandy was once again melting into silent giggles over the adorable scene in front of them, and promptly snapped a picture. Tooth smiled, and flew down towards the sleepy child, one hand fondly running through his silver hair. Aster shook his head with an amused chuckle then stooped down and picked Jack up, his features softening when the boy curled up so that he could snuggle his face into Bunny's fur. North stood next to the Pooka, his own face soft with a fatherly smile, one hand ruffling the child's head. Sandy snapped many pictures of the moment, his face alight with glee at the touching scene.

"Well," Aster chuckled "he found all the eggs, and would have finished the puzzle. I think we should just take him to his surprise and let him see it for himself when he wakes up."

One snow globe later, all stood in Jack's bedroom at the Pole watching as Bunny and North tucked the boy in. North straightened the blankets, securing them around his small frame, while Bunny opened the windows, barely suppressing his shudder at the icy chill. Tooth dropped a kiss onto his sleeping head, and Sandy brought a teddy bear over, only to snap another picture of the boy cuddling up to it. The tooth fairy gave a playful glare over the picture, knowing full well that Jack wouldn't appreciate, but then quietly giggled knowing just as well that she would ask for a copy later. Then all four snuck out of the room, leaving the winter child to sleep off his sugar rush.

…

The next day, Jack awoke in his room clutching a teddy bear. Sitting up, the boy rubbed his eyes, looking around in confusion. Wasn't he just in the warren? Suddenly all the memories from his sugar rush came back to him, piling on top of his head like an avalanche. Flopping backwards onto the bed, the teen groaned, two fists pressing into his eyes as if he could scrub away the images of all the idiotic things he remembered himself doing. Oh yeah, yesterday was now one of his finer moments. But then another thought struck him…Did he ever find his surprise?

Shooting up out of bed, the boy looked around until his eyes alighted on a large package wrapped in shiny bright red wrapping paper. Much like a hungry wolf tackles its prey, Jack scrambled off the bed and pounced on the package. Paper flew, and soon Jack was standing in awe of his surprise…

Bunny sat at the table, a newspaper in one paw, a cup of herbal chamomile tea. North sat next to him, hot chocolate steaming on the table as he looked through a toy catalogue from one of the major toy companies. Tooth was also flipping through a magazine, her newest edition of Dentist Weekly, and was ooh-ing and Ah-ing over the various new ways to keep your teeth clean. Sandy was looking through the pictures he took from the day before, occasionally breaking out in silent laughter at some odd shot he had managed to capture from during the sugar rush.

"Hey Bunny," North said vaguely his eyes never leaving the pages of his magazine.

"Yeah?" The Pooka replied.

"Think Jack found his surprise yet?" The large man asked.

Suddenly a loud "NO WAY?!" echoed down the stairs, making the whole table burst into uncontrollable giggles. Bunny turned, and watched through a nearby window the snow spirit take off, a blue snowboard firmly tucked underneath one arm. A fond smile lighting the rabbit's face, he gave a soft chuckle and said;

"Yeah, yeah I think he did."

**We are SO close to the 300****th**** reviewer mark! Keep reviewing guys, we're almost there!**


	23. Nap Time

**For some reason, I am so totally stuck on sleepy people stories…*sigh* I need serious help…**

**So here is a chapter devoted to Jack and his adorableness when he is sleepy!**

**No…I DON'T own ROTG…sheesh…**

Jack hovered in the air; his eyes shut in tight concentration with his hands outstretched his fingers twitching like a puppeteer, a blizzard raging around him. A huge snow storm had cropped up over the Northeastern side of the United States, and without any provocation from Jack, had gotten only worse as the days passed. Now hundreds of homes in several cities spanning across the Eastern coast were completely snowed in, and people were dying of hypothermia, and starvation. After hearing this, the winter spirit flew as fast as he could to the center of the storm, pouring all of his magic into slowing down the snow for just long enough to give the people a reprieve. Of course it didn't help that he had been suffering from horrible nightmares for the past few months, and was losing a lot of sleep. In fact Jack couldn't remember the last time he had actually gotten sleep, and he didn't know how Pitch had been able to send him nightmares, but after three months of nonstop horrors in his dreams he was scared of even attempting sleep. But he didn't have time for that, he needed to focus on closing down the storm, he was close but he needed to hold on for just a little longer.

Finally, the blizzard quieted to a dull roar, and then cleared, the blue sky peeking through dark clouds for the first time in over a week.

Exhausted arms flopped to heaving sides as Jack tilted his head back, panting from the exertion of keeping the blizzard in check. Slowly, he lowered himself to the ground, and pale toes touched down. Jack tried to take a few steps forward, but found that his legs wobbled like rubber bands, and soon was inches away from kissing the ground. Fortunately for him, North Wind was there to catch him. A hacking cough shook the boy's frame, and he gave a violent shudder at the pain shooting through his exhausted body. North Wind caressed his face worriedly, making the frost spirit smile gently.

"I'm fine, Wind," he croaked "take me home."

With a whoosh, the boy was taken aloft, and sped away to Burgess. Jack worried the entire ride, hoping, praying, that all were safe and sound, and that he had somehow made the blizzard stop before his hometown was affected. Mile after mile, Jack's vision swam in blurry waves as he fought the gags creeping up his throat from the nausea roiling in his stomach. He still had a job to do, and he couldn't recover until he made sure that his work was finished. Once arriving at Burgess, the boy looked around in a relieved silence, and began the clean up. Due to the town's small size, it did not take long to make the piles of snow more manageable for the city, now he only had to begin visiting the other cities and help them begin their ascent out of the snow that had buried their homes.

Minutes, hours, days, Jack didn't know how long he worked. City after city, Jack flew, his staff whirling as he attempted to free the many homes from their icy prison. It was his tenth, or twentieth, city that his exhaustion became too much to bear. To be perfectly honest, the adrenaline from stopping the storm was what kept him going, plus a good deal of stubbornness that also aided him in making sure every city was cleared. But he eventually felt the results of his exertions, and soon, he found that he could barely see much less lift his staff. Giving a heavy swallow, the child clutched his chest, his shoulders rising and dipping as he gasped for air. Nausea caused his eyesight to skitter and shake, and Jack reached out to lean against a tree trunk, but his hand was a few feet off causing the teen to fall forward and smack his head onto the rough bark.

Bunny hopped through the snow, his nose twitching as he sniffed out Jack's scent. A few hours before, one of the baby tooth fairies had found him and squeaked in apparent distress. After almost thirty minutes of charades and poorly written messages in paint, Bunny finally discovered that that particular baby fairy had seen Jack, struggling to stop a horrible snow storm, and then was cleaning up the aftermath, despite his exhaustion. Now the warrior rabbit was not normally one to show his softer side, except to children of course, but Jack had somehow managed to get under the carefully crafted tough guy façade. The ageless teen became a teammate, a friend, a brother, and the Pooka was fiercely protective of those he viewed as his family.

So now here he was, hopping around in the snow, trying to find a winter spirit in the last place he had been spotted by baby fairies. He snuffled at the powdery snow, sneezing when stray snowflakes went up his nose, until he finally caught a scent. His eyes narrow with determination, the Pooka took off, his feet flying over the frozen ground until he finally found who he was looking for. Just in time too, because right as Aster spotted the very obviously ragged winter spirit, Jack had pitched forward and smacked his head into a tree. Bunny darted forward, knowing he would be too late to catch him, but wanting to be there so to offer the help that was definitely needed.

"Oi Snowflake," Bunny grunted, one paw grasping the spirit's shoulder and giving it a firm shake "ya a'right?"

"Huh?"

Bunny winced, a bruise was already forming on the kids head, but what was really worrying was the dark bags under Jack's eyes that stood out like black punching bags. Blue eyes, usually bright with mischief, were dull and unfocused, his thin chest heaved, and Bunny was relatively sure that the boy was starting to develop a small fever from overworking. With a sigh, the rabbit pulled Jack into a sitting position, quickly giving him a field physical, and asserting that yes he was feverish, and he needed bed rest NOW. Standing up, Aster picked Jack up by the hood of his shirt, and tossed him over one shoulder.

"HEY!" the winter spirit cried indignantly "Put me down!"

"Nah mate," Bunny grumbled "yer coming with me."

"You can't just kidnap me whenever you feel like it," Jack snapped "I've got a job to do, remember?"

"Ya did good enough," Aster retorted "the humans can take care of themselves from here on out."

"I still have at least thirty cities to visit!"

"Too bad…"

With a tap, the bunny Jumped down the hole, and raced towards North's workshop. He knew Jack needed rest, and he needed cold, and the best place to achieve that was the Pole. Jack fought the entire way of course, but his weak punches barely felt any worse than bug bites, and so the Easter bunny was quite able to ignore his protests. Once there, Aster bounded out of the hole, and into the globe room. North, who had been standing there studying the lights and ensuring the safety of their believers, whirled around to face Bunny. One eyebrow raised as he took in the scene of Jack slung over the Pooka's shoulder, still weakly punching Aster's back and throwing various tired insults.

"Did something happen," North found himself chuckling "or do I need to mediate another fight?"

"Nah, no fight," Aster smirked "the little ripper just needs a nap is all."

"WHAT?!" Jack shrieked "What am I, four? Babies take naps Cottontail, not me!"

"Well you're acting like one, mate," The Easter Bunny snapped back "and by my reckoning, ya need to take yourself a nap and recharge yer batteries."

"I reiterate," The winter spirit snarled "I do NOT need a nap!"

Bunny raised an eyebrow at North as if to say _'There, ya see?'_, and North could only laugh. Ruffling Jack's hair, the large man chuckled "I think Jack, that it is wise to take Bunny's advice. You look tired, and maybe nap would be good thing?"

"I have a job to do," Jack bellowed "You cannot force me to take a nap against my will when you know there are countless people still trapped in their homes and unable to be rescued!"

"I'll take care of that with yetis" North consoled "you go to room and rest."

Jack's jaw dropped as his last excuse for why he should not be put to bed. With a resigned scowl, the boy finally allowed himself to be carried up to his room. Bunny marched him up the stairs and into the room North had designed specifically for him, then threw him onto his bed. Jack immediately sat up, his face set in a firm scowl of stubborn disapproval.

"You can throw me in here," Jack growled "you can even make sure I don't leave, but you can't make me take a nap."

"Oh yeah?" Bunny smirked "How about I send for Sandy and have him slap ya, how would that work out for your plan?"

Jack's eyes widened, but he quickly regained his composure "That could take hours, we all know that Sandy is the busiest out of all of us."

"Frosty," the rabbit growled crossing his arms in his own show of stubbornness "ya can either go to sleep, or I'll know ya out, but either way you're getting rest."

"Oh come ON!" Jack snarled "YOU'RE the one who always says that I don't take my job seriously enough, and now that I have a serious job to take care of, you want to get in my way?"

Bunny sighed "North already said that he would take care of it, and I only say those things to rile ya up, I don't actually mean it. Ya have been working yourself to the bone lately, and if ya don't rest, then ya gonna be useless."

"I'm just fine!"

"Oh yeah," Bunny gave a mocking laugh "then prove it."

Jack's face twisted with stubborn determination, and he clambered to his feet. He swayed only a little, but as he began to walk towards the door, he leaned more and more heavily on his staff. Despite the valiant effort, Jack didn't even make it past Bunny before collapsing in a quivering heap. Quickly catching the young guardian, and scooping him up into his arms, Aster gave a tolerant yet grieved sigh.

"Listen Snowflake, ya can't even stand up and walk proper, how ya gonna finish out the winter if ya can't even do that?"

Placing him onto the mattress, Bunny tucked the boy into bed, and sat on the mattress. Jack felt his eyelids droop, but he fought hard against sleep's sweet embrace. "No," he murmured as he kicked out with distressed hands and feet "I can't go to sleep!"

"Why ya fightin' Jackie?" Bunny groaned "Ya got to feel whatcha doin' to yer body."

"If…If I…sleep" Jack mumbled incoherently, his mind losing the battle to stay awake and maintain his tough mask of indifference "Nightmares…come…they always come."

Bunny's ears twitched at the mention of nightmares "What ya say?"

"Don't wanna…sleep…" Eyelids fell closed only to spring back open with a fearful gasp.

Aster leaned forward and ran a paw through white hair "How long ya been havin' these nightmares Jackie? When was the last time you slept?"

"Few weeks…" Jack guessed "Months...maybe?"

The rabbit heaved yet another sigh, his mind reeling on how one spirit could be responsible for making him so worried and frustrated all in the same moment "Ya need to sleep kid," he said gently "yer runnin' outta steam as it is."

"But…the nightmares…" Wide blue eyes, look more childlike than ever as the mask slipped just enough for the rabbit to see the genuine fear underneath.

"They won't come," Aster smiled ruffling the sprite's hair "I promise."

A pout set on his face, Jack merely gave a solemn nod then snuggled deep into his covers. Bunny watched the boy for a few moments, and then prepared to walk out and let Jack rest, but a small voice stopped him.

"Bunny?"

"Yeah Frostbite?"

"…I'm still scared…"

"A'right."

Walking over to the bed, Aster seated himself once again on the mattress, and then in a rare show of his softer side, began to sing to the boy. Jack's eyes widened at the deep rumbling voice, that was at once beautiful and nostalgic. It was a voice of the ages, that held within its timbre secrets long forgotten in this modern world. Bunny sang of rivers, of valleys, of mountains, and flowers. His soft baritone captured the essence of the stars, and painted the glories of a sunrise. Leaning back, Jack listened to the song, allowing it to wash over him, and paint pictures in his mind.

_Mountains stand_

_Oceans break_

_The fair sun rises _

_At break of day_

_The winds they blow_

_Cross meadows framed in gold_

_That's where you'll find me,_

_Yes friend, that's where you'll find me._

_To feel the breeze_

_As it dips and plays_

_To hear the thunder _

_Of the ocean spray_

_To climb a mountain_

_and feel its strength_

_That's where you'll find me_

_Yes friend, that's where you'll find me_

_When you're sad_

_Or afraid_

_Look to the stars_

_And count away_

_The sun will gleam_

_Its morning rays_

_That's where you'll find me_

_Aye, that's where I'll be_

_So do not fear_

_Or in sorrow be_

_I'll be right here_

_Right next to thee_

_And if you stray_

_Just climb a tree_

_That's where you'll find me_

_That's where I'll be_

As Bunny's voice softened, and the last note sung, he gazed down on the sleeping winter spirit with a fond smile. Running a tender paw through his hair, the rabbit snuffled his temple, and gave a comforting nuzzle. Pulling the blankets up, and assuring the child would not fall out of bed, the Pooka finally deemed it time to sneak out. Closing the door behind him, Aster spared one more backwards glance over at the winter child, and smiled.

"Good night Jack."

**OK!**

**The winner of the 300****th**** review goes to the Guest Reviewer Little Apple, so congrats. If you do not remember my rules, reference previous chapters; and if you cannot do that then tell me and I will PM them to you. Send your one-shot request in a PM, or via your review. Congrats!**

**To those of you who do not know what the surprise was, reread the end of the chapter, I clearly typed that Jack got a snowboard! **

**Ok…that's all, hope you enjoyed, and please forgive my horrible song writing skills. I literally made the song up off the top of my head. PEACE!**


	24. Amnesia

**Hi Everyone!**

**This is the one shot I promised for Little Apple in which Jack loses his memory. Yes, I know this is a somewhat cliché plot bunny, but I have to admit, I want to take on the challenge on whether or not I can breathe new life into an overly used idea.**

**ENJOY!**

**And again…I do not own ROTG**

Jack's staff whirled as he fought Pitch, nightmare sand flew all around him as he deflected it with ice, and his face was hard with concentration. Nearby, the other guardians slashed and burst through hundreds of nightmares, each straining to stay ahead and not give Pitch even an inch of ground. Leaping high into the air, the winter spirit flipped backwards landing on a rock ledge, and swung his staff down creating a broad sweep of icy blades hurtling towards his enemy. Pitch merely dodged, creating a large scythe, and swinging it at the boy. His aim was wide, and merely cut into the stone Jack was standing on. The winter child gave a robust laugh, focused his energy, and sent out a large explosion of pure magical power at his opponent.

Unfortunately that explosion caused the seam in the stone to only widen, and crack, causing Jack to teeter dangerously over the edge of a cliff.

Pitch took this as his opportunity, and unleashed a torrent of black dream sand crashing into the already flailing figure of the winter spirit. Jack felt his staff slip from his fingers as waves of black sand raged against him, and without barely a second to defend himself, he was effectively pushed off the ledge and down into the ravine. Bunny slashed and kicked, destroying nightmares left and right when he heard the sound of wood clattering against stone, and a cry of surprise and fear yelp from Jack's throat. His ears twitched, and he turned to see Jack's staff lying on the ground while a familiar shock of white hair fell over the edge of the cliff. Green eyes widened with fear, and the warrior rabbit felt the entire world slow down to a crawl as he watched the boy tumble into the gaping crack running through the earth and disappear from view.

"JACK!"

He ran forward, only to be stopped by over a dozen nightmares. With a snarl, the Pooka narrowed his eyes at his enemy, his teeth grinding at the sound of Pitch's laughter. "You" he growled "stay outta my way!"

A strange burst of power, a kind he had never felt before, welled up within the Pooka, green energy flowing off his in angry writhing waves. Clenching his paws, the warrior rabbit let out one solid scream of defiance, and suddenly green flowering plants shot out of the ground, wrapping their vines around Pitch and he dark creations. The Nightmares disappeared in explosions of black sand, while Pitch was bound and gagged with sharp rose thorn vines. Bunny didn't stop to wonder how he had just accomplished such a feat, didn't even take the time to admire his work, he had something more important to do. Hopping over the tied up form of their long time enemy without even a glance, Bunny took a running leap off the cliff edge, diving down to where he hoped Jack was. Balancing on the sheer drop of walls leading down to the bottom of the ravine, Bunny jumped from side to side as he descended, his heart racing with fear for his little brother.

"Jack!" he cried as soon as he reached the bottom, his nose twitching as he sniffed for the boy's scent "Frosty? Snowflake!"

A crack of thunder boomed as more rock dislodged itself from the walls of the cliff and came crashing down around the Pooka. Bunny dodged it, barely comprehending his movements as his eyes searched desperately for their youngest member. Up above, the other guardians peeked over the edge, Toothiana and Sandy coming down to aid in the search. Sandy sent frantic images of a snowflake and a Band-Aid, his face a mask of worry and fear. Tooth cast her eyes around, only to gaze on Bunny, watching as he frantically dug various holes in the rubble and hopping to different spots, searching for the winter child.

"We," Bunny panted "we gotta find 'im! He could be hurt, or…worse."

"Bunny, Tooth," North bellowed from above "do you see Jack?"

"No" Tooth replied a sob riding just beneath her words "we're still looking!"

"Jackie!" Aster called, his voice growing more desperate and panicked "Where are ya mate?"

By now his paws were trembling with anxiety, and the rabbit wasn't even picking out areas where the boy could be, he was just frantically digging any and all places that his eyes landed on. Lowering his face, he sniffed the ground, and then tasted the air. Huffing the breeze in search of the scent of newly fallen snow and icicles. Finally, a small smell reached his nose making it quiver, and the rabbit burst forward following it to its source. Under a pile of rubble, with only a hand and part of his head visible, lay the winter spirit. Bunny pounced on the pile, his paws flying as he dug the boy out, and finally dislodged him from the chunks of rock lying on top of him. Aster snuffled his muzzle against Jack's temple, eliciting a small groan from the teen. Almost weeping for joy that he was still breathing, the rabbit quickly gave a field physical, noting every cut and broken bone.

Picking the child up, Aster winced at the amount of blood flowing from a ragged head wound, no doubt sustained from hitting it on stone during the fall. Snuggling the boy close, the Pooka sighed with relief "Don't worry ankle biter" he whispered "I got ya, we're gonna get ya home, and patch ya up."

Bleary blue eyes opened at the Australian accent, then the brow furrowed in confusion "Da?" came the wondering reply before the crystal eyes once again slipped shut, leaving Bunny shocked and surprised.

Shaking his head, the Pooka stood Jack cradled in his arms, and called out to the other guardians, alerting them that Jack had been found. Within moments, and not without a good deal of worry and panic, all five were well on their way to North's workshop. Bunny didn't even protest riding in the sleigh, all his attention was on his youngest sibling, and keeping that child alive. Finally after riding for what felt like an eternity, the North Pole had been reached, and the guardians piled out of the sleigh, racing for the infirmary, the Pooka leading the way. North bellowed out commands to various yetis, causing them to scramble as they followed their boss's instructions to prep the medical room. Phil stopped, sparing half a glance at the limp bloodied winter spirit lying in Bunny's arms, and with a huff of determination, proceeded to bellow out his own orders to the yetis urging them to hurry.

The next couple hours flew by as all worked to aid their fallen comrade. A broken wrist was set and splinted in a cast, cuts and gashes were cleaned up and stitched where needed, and the head wound was cleaned and bound up tight in medical gauze. Until suddenly, the four stood feeling helpless and insecure with nothing to do but wait for Jack to wake up, and pray for his swift recovery. Bunny paced the room, never going beyond more than five feet from the bed, his paws twitching as he checked vitals every few minutes. Tooth hovered, one thumbnail firmly set between her teeth as she worried over her fallen baby. Sand stood, unable to concentrate enough to fly, one foot tapping as he stared out into space with eyes firmly set with worried concern. North stood in front of the fireplace, his blue eyes watching the flames as if they held the secrets to whether Jack would make it through or not.

One hour, then two, five, and then ten with still no sign of change from their beloved winter spirit.

Finally, a cough accompanied by a groan. Bunny raced to the boy's side, and sat in the chair next to it, one leg bouncing as his keen gaze watched and waited for the sprite to wake up. Tooth flew in behind him, her lavender eyes wide with anticipation. Sand and North also joined, gathering on the other side of the bed, and all four waited breathlessly for Jack to waken and assuage their fears with his typical joke and bright smile. Unfortunately, that was not what they got. Bright azure eyes fluttered open, containing a strange childish nature that was unusual to see in the spirit, and the teen gazed up and around with a face etched in confusion and…fear.

"Who," Jack began in strangely Irish accented English, all four guardians leaning in to hear the soft words uttered by the sprite "who are you?"

Shock reigned for a solid five minutes.

Bunny's jaw dropped, as his paws fell limply onto the blankets. Tooth forgot she had been flying, and promptly fell to the floor with a large thump in a disbelieving heap. North's mouth moved as he gasped for air, and attempted to process just what Jack had said, looking much like a fish out of water. Sandy stood in shock, his eyes glazed over, and his mouth hanging open. After five minutes of galvanized horror, the first person to recover was Toothiana, who promptly flew over the bed, and grabbed Jack's face, squishing his cheeks between her hands.

"Jack," she cried "It's me Tooth, the tooth fairy! Don't you remember me?"

"No…" Jack said slowly before his eyes sparked "Wait…Faerie? My Mam told me about you lot, about the Sidhe, have ya spirited me away? Are ya seelie or unseelie court?"

"Wait…what?" Tooth spluttered "I'm neither!"

"Where am I?" Jack queried his voice wobbling "What have ya done to my family?"

"Jack," North said softly "you are at workshop, I North Pole."

"North Pole, workshop?" the boy spluttered "I have no idea what yer talkin' about! And stop calling me Jack, only my Mam and my Da call me Jack, my name is Jackson, Jackson Overland."

Bunny, who had been sitting in his seat, his whiskers twitching in shock induced disbelief finally recovered enough to speak. His voice soft with pain "He doesn't remember us" he practically whispered "He has no clue who we are, or who he is, his mind is back to when he was human."

"What do you mean _was_?" the Irish brogue snapped accompanied by angry azure eyes "Last I checked I still am, so shut yer trap ya overgrown field rabbit!"

"Wha- what?!" the Pooka spluttered "What did you call me?"

"Yer an overgrown bunny," Jack repeated slowly "and I don't need ya so close to my person, so I suggest that ya back off before I show ya what we do to rabbits in my part of the country."

Once again Aster's face fell in shock before it twisted in fury "Oh it's on now Frostbite!" he snarled.

"Stop calling me strange names!" the boy cried with an exasperated slap to the bed sheets "I don't know who ya think I am, but I assure you, I'm not him!"

"You are Jack, er… Jackson" Tooth stumbled "You're name is Jack Frost, you are the spirit of winter, and the Guardian of Fun."

"That's the biggest load of blarney I've ever heard," Jack scoffed "I'm no spirit, I'm a human, and I'm going home out of this banjaxed place and away from you lot of wankers."

"OI!" Bunny bellowed cuffing the boy upside the head "Watch ya language, I may not know yer parents, but I'm pretty sure they didn't raise ya ta talk like that."

"Dry up ya useless bag of fur!" the teen retorted with a sneer his hand massaging where he had been cuffed, which was fortunately on the side that hadn't been injured "You aren't my Da, so don't think ya can act like him!"

"That is impossible Jack," North sighed "you cannot go home."

"Watch me…"

Swinging his legs over the side of the bed, the spirit attempted to stand, his arms sticking out on either side to maintain his balance. His face scrunched in a wince of pain as one hand clutched his head, a throbbing headache pounding behind his eyeballs, but the boy was not daunted. Taking a deep breath, he set determined eyes on the door, and proceeded to walk towards it. Bunny hopped into his path, his arms crossing flexing the large muscle, and rising to his full height. Jack looked up at the rabbit, his eyes widening from the intimidating warrior, before once again setting back into their previous stubborn gleam.

Staring down at the boy, Aster growled in his most serious voice "Ya ain't goin' anywhere, Frostbite."

"I'd like ta see ya stop me, rabbit." Jackson snarled back.

Glancing around, the amnesiac caught sight of a staff leaning against the wall, and reached for it. As soon as his fingers touched the wood, the object seemed to sing to him, and his entire being was drawn to it. Jack shook his head, turning his attention onto the anthropomorphic animal in front of him. He had a broken wrist, but he could fight just as well with one hand. So squaring his shoulders, Jack took a defensive stance, and gave a threatening whirl with his staff.

"Take one step," he taunted "and I'll show ya the ways of the Celts that my Da taught me as a lad, and I promise that you won't enjoy the experience."

Bunny snarled "Ya know North, I prefer our Jack a lot better than this brat, I've half a mind to bend him over my knee and spank him."

"Roasted rabbit slowly cooked over a fire is sounding better and batter to me, wanker" Jack retorted "so bring it on!"

"Jack, please don't be angry" Tooth soothed sending a sharp look loaded with daggers at Bunny "we aren't lying to you, you really are Jack Frost."

"Oh really?" Jack scoffed "Then why don't ya prove it?"

Lips pressed in a tight line, Toothiana sped out of the room, only to return with a small hand mirror "Look at yourself Jack, this is who you are!"

The boy cast an incredulous gaze at the fairy before looking into the mirror, his face suddenly going slack with shock "What…" he murmured as trembling fingers ran themselves through white locks of hair "What did ya do to me? My hair, and my eyes, they're the wrong color! What did ya do to me?!"

"We didn't do a blasted thing," Bunny cried in frustration "you're Jack Frost, spirit of winter and Guardian of Fun. It's impossible for ya to go home because it's been over three hundred years since ya became a spirit."

"No, no…That can't be right." Blue eyes fell to the floor in grieved disbelief "I'm thirteen years old, not three hundred. But…if it were…then….then that would mean…." Jack gulped heavily as his eyes filled with tears and his chin began to quiver "That would mean that my Mam… My Da…. My little sister…they're…all dead."

The staff clattered to the floor as both hands went up to cover his mouth, and thin shoulders hitched as Jack began to hyperventilate, a wrenching sob riding on each shuddered breath. Sinking to the floor, the boy sat with his knees pulled tight against his chest, as his arms hugged himself. Rocking back and forth to combat the horrible pain of heartache, the tears sped faster and faster down his face as reality rang its dreadful chime like a death toll over a city, and Jackson could only grit his teeth against the sobs crawling up his throat.

"No…No…" the boy gasped "This can't be happening….Can't be happening…I don't want to be alone…"

Bunny hopped forward, a feeling of guilt saturating his heart over letting himself get riled up from a situation that Jack obviously couldn't control. Slowly reaching out, the Pooka attempted to place hesitant paws on the boys shoulders, but wasn't expecting said distressed child to stand and neatly flip him onto the floor over his shoulder. Staring up at Jack in yet only more shock, the rabbit felt a small cough wrack his frame from having the wind knocked out of him. Jackson stared down at the rabbit, guilt battling with anger and sorrow in his blue eyes.

"Don't touch me," he growled softly "Just leave me be!"

With that, the boy snatched up his staff, and ran out of the room leaving the four guardians standing in emotional turmoil. North looked out the door and sighed, firmly plopping himself into the nearest chair. Bunny groaned, splaying his arms and legs across the floor, and banging the back of his head on the hardwood. Tooth looked between them, her lavender eyes shining with aggravation, and then fury. Small fists clenched and propped on her hips, the tooth fairy sent her sternest glare at her cohorts, wings buzzing with anxiety.

"Well aren't you going to go after him?" She demanded.

"In a minute…" Bunny sighed "This is a whole different Jack, and I don't quite know how to handle him yet."

"What do you mean this isn't Jack?!" Tooth snapped.

"I mean," Bunny growled "that this isn't our boy! This is a young child, trapped in the body of a three hundred and seventeen year old spirit, who has no clue where he is, or why he's here. He isn't goin' to listen, and until he is, we aren't goin' to be able to talk to him. So I'm takin' a breather, and waitin' until he cools off."

Tooth hovered in the air, her chest heaving, angry disbelieving eye glaring at the Pooka "NORTH?!" she finally wailed.

"Sorry Toothy," North groaned "but will tackle when I have more strength to fight."

"Not you too?!" Tooth snarled.

"Toothiana," North said in as calming a voice he could manage while massaging his temples "Like Bunny says, Jack does not trust us, and he will not unless we give him reason to. Chasing after him like angry Cossack will only increase anger and distrust further."

"Sandy?" Tooth pleaded.

The golden man shrugged, showing that he agreed with North and Aster. Golden sand created images of a sad Jack being chased by overzealous Guardians, and then becoming angry and flying away. Sandy thought giving the boy his space for a few minutes was probably a good idea, for the present time anyways. Toothiana was not happy, her feathers rose and fell with her heavy breaths, and her nose flared as her fury rose, until finally she gave a scream of aggravated frustration.

"ARGH!" The fairy snarled "You…MEN…are so…SO…IMPOSSIBLE!"

Bunny bent his head up and backwards from where he lay on the floor to share an amused yet confused look with North and Sandy, what did them being men have to do with it? Toothiana flitted from the room, and with a sigh, the others pulled themselves to follow along. They knew she would find the spirit in a matter of minutes, and it was best to protect him from her while they had the energy, somewhat. Looking left and right, Tooth fled down the hall, searching for her baby. Finally the group came across a yeti, grunting and growling in his language, waving his arms in a distressed way. North listened carefully, and then gave a firm nod. Turning around, the large man addressed his fellow Guardians, his eyes twinkling in slight amusement.

"According to Phil," he said softly "Jack took one step outside, freaked out, and then returned back into the workshop. He is currently hiding in closet."

Exchanging a look, the four Guardians took off down the hall, following North as he led the way to the closet where Jackson was currently hiding. Finally they reached a small wooden door set into the side of a staircase, and Tooth flew up to it, knocking gently.

"Jack, sweetie, you need to listen-"

"I don't want to listen!" Jack wailed from inside the closet.

"Snowflake," Bunny tried "we can help…"

"No you CAN'T!" these words accompanied by a sniffle "You can't help me, you could never give me back my family."

"Jack," this time North spoke, placing one hand gently on the door "we ARE your family."

"No you're not!" This time a broken sob echoed through the door "You don't understand…you couldn't…" His words trailed off, softening to almost a whisper "…I want my Mam…"

"Oh Jack…" North sighed, his head bowing in grief.

Hopping up to the door, Bunny tried the knob, and deduced that the only thing keeping the door closed was probably just a well placed broom. Flexing his muscle, the rabbit gripped the doorknob and gave a firm yank, neatly pulling it open. Gazing inside the small room, the Pooka felt his heart break at the huddled form of their youngest guardian, with a sigh he bent down till he was eyelevel with the kid. Frightened blue eyes, red rimmed, and swimming with tears dared to peek up at the warrior rabbit. Sniffling, Jack lifted one hand to swipe away at the moisture leaking from his eyes, and scooted his body further away from the Easter Rabbit.

"Leave me alone," he hiccupped "it's bad enough I'll never see my family again, I don't want to be hounded by a bunch of faeries."

Catching the boy as he scooted backwards, the rabbit pulled him towards himself, gently increasing his grip when Jack began to fight and thrash against him. After a little bit of juggling and pulling, the Pooka finally had the child in his lap, and had wrapped his arms around him in a warm hug. Jackson pushed, and struggled, but finally rested his head against the sinewy shoulder of the rabbit when he became too tired to fight back any longer. His chest heaving from exertion, the boy was suddenly filled with a feeling of nostalgia, like he had somehow been here before; the smell of the fur, the feeling of the strong arms around him offering comfort and security, and the quick heartbeat of the anthropomorphic rabbit. It was strange, and he couldn't explain why he felt so…at home.

"Look Jackie," Bunny said softly, his voice overflowing with conviction "We ARE your family. We've made some mistakes, and heaven knows we don't deserve ya, but you're part of our family. We love ya, and we only want to help ya, and protect ya. Ya need to know that."

Tooth flew inside of the closet, folding her wings, and joining in the hug. Sandy also joined in, wrapping his small arms around the boy, while North reached into the closet and pulled all of them out into his arms. The five of them sat there, Jack's head spinning with the overwhelming sense that he had been there, and experienced all this before. It was then that it happened, a tsunami of emotions and memories piled into the boy's brain, leaving him a quivering mess. The Guardians were unaware of Jack's sudden experience, thinking that his trembling frame was due to his distress over the shock about his family. Eyes wide, Jack sorted through the memories, his fist gripping Aster's fur as he snuggled closer, his mind sparking and buzzing with the new(or old) information. He knew who he was, he remembered, and it was only because of the Guardians that he was able to do so. Their love and acceptance helped him remember, and the boy was grateful, because he truly understood just what they were and what they had become. His family.

Looking up, Jack glued blue eyes up at the person who had become an older brother to him "Bunny?" he said softly.

The Pooka stilled, and slowly looked down. There was something about his eyes that seemed, clearer, older even. "Jack?" Aster asked slowly.

"Yeah," the teen smiled through his tears "it's me, the old me, now the new me….feeling supremely weirded out."

"Oh thank GOD!" Bunny exclaimed gathering the boy in for another crushing hug while everyone exulted around them.

"We thought we lost you!" Tooth cried, happy tears welling up in her eyes.

"Indeed," North laughed "we were worried that our Jack was gone."

"Nah," Jack chuckled softly "As strange as it is, I think the hug is what did it. I remembered everything."

"Don't ya ever do that again!" Bunny bellowed into Jack's face shoving him away from him so that he could scold him better "What, were you out of your blinkin' mind?! When fighting an enemy, don't go _towards_ the cliff edge, go_ away_ from it! You were practically begging to be killed!"

"Aw, Bunny" North sighed with a longsuffering look "Can you not wait for yelling? Let's just be happy that Jack is back to rightful mind."

Tooth giggled "I agree." She concurred blissfully.

Bunny groaned at the tag team, but finally just rolled his eyes and settled back into his spot, and for a few moments, they just sat there, enjoying each other's company. But eventually Jack began to fidget, until finally the winter spirit blew out a sigh.

"Hey guys…?"

"Yes Jack?" North said happily.

"Can we stop hugging now?"

**I hope you all enjoyed this One Shot!**

**I had fun writing it, and I will try to make Pooka Jack next, BUT I won't promise anything. I am writing things as my muse wanders, BUT I WILL promise that I will finish Pooka Jack, I won't abandon it. **

**Read and REVIEW!**


	25. Easter Sunday

**To everyone who previously flamed me when I put this chapter up this morning, do not put words in my mouth. To the guest reviewer, I never once said that atheists are terrible people, and that anyone who lives without God has a sad and miserable life, you came to that conclusion on your own. **

**Everyone out there is allowed to write yoai and lemon fics, which I personally do not approve of, but I have never once flamed them for their beliefs. I expect you to give me the same respect. I have every right to post this chapter, and put it up with my other fics because it is something I hold dear to my heart. And so if you don't like it, take me off your favorites list, and forget about me, I don't care.**

**Professor-Evans: If you reread that scene, you will see Bunny telling Jack that it had been over three hundred years since he became a spirit, and so since normal humans do not really live that long, Jack naturally assumed that he had outlived his family.**

**No…I do NOT own ROTG…evil people…**

Jack looked around, watching the children running around the yard of an Apostolic Pentecostal church collecting brightly painted eggs, their voices echoing off the walls of the large building shrieking in glee.The pastor of that particular flock stood by, his face alit with a happy glow as he watched over the children, his careful eyes monitoring each one ensuring their safety. Little girls dressed in their Easter best, long hair flowing in the wind, and little boys pulled off their ties, and took off their vests as they raced to find the most eggs. Jack found himself laughing at their antics, settling himself on the roof ledge of the church, his pale feet swinging over the edge as he watched the fun.

"Oi, Snowflake" a voice rumbled behind him "if you even think of making a blizzard, I will personally throw you off this roof…without ya staff."

Jack leaned his head backwards in order to throw a mischievous grin at his friend "Aw Bunny," he whined playfully "not even a tiny one?"

"No."

"Come on, please?" the winter spirit added an endearing pout accompanied by a whimper.

Bunny smirked, but looked away "Nuh-uh"

"Itty bitty" Jack continued to plead holding his index finger and thumb merely a millimeter apart "super tiny!"

"No way, no how," Aster hid his chuckled with a cough "now quit askin' ya dag!"

"Aw!" Jack flopped backwards onto the roof crossing his arms with a pout "you're no fun."

"And yer a troublemaker," the Pooka smirked as he sat down next to the boy "but I don't see you changing anytime soon, so I'm not either."

Jack crossed his eyes and stuck his tongue out at the rabbit, then sat up with a laugh. Both watched the children play a little longer, until suddenly a thought struck Jack. "Hey…" he said quickly "Aren't you gonna play with the kids? I thought you liked finding eggs with your believers?"

"Nah, not this bunch," Bunny chuckled softly "a few of them may believe a little bit, but this bunch, they know the real reason for the season."

"Huh?" Jack wondered "What do you mean the real reason?"

"I mean," the rabbit sighed "that they believe in something more powerful than me, or you, or any of us, including Manny."

"Whoa." Jack breathed "Who? Are they a spirit?"

"Yep," Aster nodded "He's a spirit, and it's none other Jesus Christ, and He's the real meaning behind Easter."

Jack cocked his head, his memories from his humanity were still vague, but that name sounded familiar and important "Why is He the real reason?"

"Let me tell ya a story" the bunny began "One that I was allowed to witness before being chosen to be made the Easter Bunny."

Jack nodded, and turned towards the Pooka, his legs crossed as he listened intently to his friend. Bunny stared off into the distance with sad eyes, and then with a voice thick with the memories of the past, began to tell a story that tore time apart, and changed the lives of millions.

"Once, there was nothing," he began "Earth didn't exist, it was a black void. But God, the very first, and oldest spirit began to move, and He created the Earth, the animals, the sun and the moon, and He even created humans all in a week. Manny still remembers that day when God spoke him into existence. But the awesome thing about God is that while He spoke animals and the Earth into being, He loved humans so much, He created mankind with His own two hands. Magnificent mountains, and beautiful oceans were created by His voice, but humans…they were so special, God got His hands dirty just so that He could bring them into being, they were His masterpiece."

"Wow" Jack smiled.

"Yeah" Aster nodded with a small grin of his own "but the problem with humans, as you have seen, is that they had a propensity for evil because of a sin done in a very special garden long ago. That garden was called Eden, and the first man and woman lived there in peace. Adam, and Eve were their names, and Adam named all of the animals when God created him. God would walk with them in the Garden, and gave them many things, but He also gave them only one rule. They were not to eat from the tree in the middle of the Garden, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. As He said, that they day they would eat of it, they would surely die. Adam and Eve knew this, but they did not expect that a fallen angel, a messenger of darkness, would sneak into their paradise in the form of a snake, and trick Eve into eating the fruit through lies and treachery. Adam also broke his promise to God, and since Eden was a perfect place, they had to be cast out for their disobedience. This was the beginning of the world."

"But wait…" Jack asked, his face screwed in confusion "Why would God put a tree that would ruin their life and keep them from living in the Garden there in the first place?"

"Because God loved them." Aster replied simply.

"Huh?"

"God doesn't force Himself on people," the rabbit smiled "He wanted Adam and Eve to have the choice on whether or not they would stay in the Garden. Remember when I said that He took walks with them? They knew about the evils of the tree, and I bet they talked about it too, but they still decided to disobey God, and even though it broke His heart, God wanted to make sure that they had that choice to begin with because He would rather people choose to love and obey Him, rather than be forced to."

Jack nodded, understanding in his eyes as he waited for the Pooka to continue "Now," Bunny began once again "after the Garden, thousands of years passed where God saw the evil of the humans He created time after time, and once He even destroyed the entire Earth in a flood because He was so disgusted with the murder, hatred, and evil deeds being done. Though, it was the righteousness of one man that saved the world, and God allowed humans one last chance through the line of Noah. Once again humans walked the Earth, but…God had a special plan, one He had been preparing since He first created Earth, knowing that in the end it would be the only way to save His creation."

"What did He do?" the winter spirit asked, eyes wide with wonder.

"He decided to become a human Himself, and be born from a virgin." Aster replied.

"Jesus Christ." The sprite breathed "Then Jesus Christ…is God?"

"Exactly" the rabbit nodded "He loved humans so much He came down to know what it felt like to be human. He wanted to experience life the way we do so that He could understand and learn to love us all over again on a deeper level. He wanted to know what it felt like to stub your toe, to oversleep on a school day, to crush on a girl, and even to cry when a friend breaks your heart. God wanted to know us, and so He came as a baby and grew into a man, and lived a life where He was tempted in the ways we are, but never once committed sin."

"That's pretty cool!" Jack smiled.

"Yeah, but that's not the best part."

"Well then," the sprite laughed pushing Bunny gently on the shoulder "keep talking!"

"Ok, ok" Aster laughed "For thirty years Jesus, God in flesh, lived as a human, and then He began to travel around the country doing miracles by healing people, and teaching them about God. He even revealed to people that He _was_ God, and many believed in Him. It was when He was thirty-three though that His ultimate plan formed from the beginning came into action though."

"Ya see kid," the rabbit said "back in the old days, people would kill animals as a blood sacrifice to roll their sins back another year, and keep God's anger away from them, but God wanted to create a way that wouldn't just shove the sins under the carpet for a year, but would erase them completely. And so, knowing that the only way to erase the sins of the world was through a perfect blood sacrifice, He allowed Himself to be betrayed by His own friend and taken captive by the people who hated Him, and after His trial where even the leaders of that country could not find Him guilty of anything, He was nailed to a cross and executed."

"He…" Jack felt his heart break "He died?"

"Yeah," Bunny nodded "I saw it myself. That man, who had so much love for the people around Him, was murdered by the same people who He had served and done miracles for. They beat Him with whips that had chips of bone and glass woven in them, and then He was forced to carry a heavy wooden cross up a hill, and then as if that weren't enough, they laid His bloody body across the wood and nailed His hands and His feet to the thing. I can still remember His screams of pain as the large pieces of metal pierced His skin and His bone, and the way His blood flooded down the wood and to the ground below. God Himself became the perfect sacrifice that would erase our sins, and bring us salvation."

Jack bit his lip, tears springing to his eyes "But why? Why would He do that?"

"Because He loves us," the rabbit replied ruffling Jack's head fondly "and that was a good enough reason for Him to go through that kind of torture."

"That's so sad…" Jack sighed then looked at the rabbit accusingly "How is THAT the best part?!"

"It is, and it isn't" the rabbit smiled secretively "ya see, the story ain't done yet. When God's human body died on the cross, the Earth shook, and the veil in the temple that separated people from the presence of God was torn in half, but that wasn't even the end of it. Because ya can't kill God."

Jack let a bright grin light his face "Of course!" he smiled "Because Jesus was God, and God can't really die!"

"Exactly!" Bunny nodded "Ya see, before He died, He told his followers that He was going to die for everyone's sin, but that He would rise again in three days. The government at that time was scared of Jesus, and knew about this prophecy, and they did everything they could to ensure that this didn't happen. They even thought that His followers would steal His body and make it seem like He had, but they didn't expect what happened next."

"Bunny!" Jack wailed "Stop with the suspense, and tell me already!"

"He came back to life, mate" Aster grinned "Just like He said, three days later a huge angel rolled back the stone scaring the guards who had been put there away, and then Jesus walked out of His tomb victorious. After that, He was seen by thousands of people, and there were many first hand and eye witness accounts of having seen Jesus. Later on, many people who saw Him were gathered on a hill, and Jesus was speaking to them. He told them that He was going back to His throne in heaven to prepare a special city just for those who lived lives according to His scripture, and He also said that power shall come to them through the Holy Ghost and that they were to wait for it in a city called Jerusalem. Many left to wait for this promise, but as time went by, many grew tired and left, impatient and not truly wanting what God had to offer, content with what they had. But those that stayed, well the Bible talks about it in the book of Acts during chapter two, about how God came into the room like a mighty rushing wind, and filled their hearts with His spirit, and they spoke in the Holy Ghost."

"What is that?"

"The Holy Ghost is when God's spirit comes into your heart, and you have the most perfect conversation a body could ever have with Jesus. It is when you completely connect with God our creator, and you speak in a language you never learned. The Bible even tells us that only through speaking in that different tongue, or language, is the only way you can really get the Holy Ghost."

"Have you gotten it?" Jack wondered.

"Yeah," Bunny nodded "I was there, but I'm ashamed to say that it's been a while since I talked to my creator last."

"What's it like?"

"Well," Aster leaned back and closed his eyes as he searched for the right words "It is the most beautiful, wonderful experience ya could ask for. You feel weightless, like you could fly right into the sky and never touch the ground. All the problems and worries in your heart just disappear, and ya feel full to bursting with power, love, and happiness. It is so amazing, I don't even have words to describe it. There are millions of people who experience this every day, and they still see miracles of healing and power through it."

"Wow" Jack smiled "Can I have it?"

"It's for everyone," Aster grinned "The Bible in the book of Acts chapter twenty-eight, and verse twenty says that the promise, meaning the Holy Ghost, is for adults and for children, and to anyone God calls to Him, meaning everyone living on the Earth."

"That's so cool!" The sprite bounced before his eyes suddenly became serious "But wait, if God is a spirit like us, why don't people see Him?"

"Because" Bunny sighed "less and less people believe in Him. Like I said, many do, though just as many aren't following the Bible the way they need to be, but in the end people are forgetting about Jesus and how He came to Earth as a human and died for them just so that they could find a way to heaven."

Jack sniffled a little, nodding his head, understanding the pain of people not believing and walking through you despite how many good things you try to do for them. Looking up at Bunny with tear filled eyes, he gave a gentle smile "Wanna stay for their next service? I think I want to hear more about God, and how He died for me. Maybe I can get the Holy Ghost too."

Bunny smiled, and placed a paw on the boy's shoulder "Sure Jackie, it would be my honor."

**Happy Easter everyone!**

**And to anyone wondering, yes I am Apostolic Pentecostal, and yes I have gotten the Holy Ghost by speaking in a language I never learned. It truly is the most fantastic amazing experience I have ever felt, and through it I have seen wonderful miracles in my church. I have seen a lady healed from AIDs, I have seen another person completely healed form cancer, and I have even seen a man raised from the dead. It is real, and I love being able to be a part of the glorious power of God!**

**Because of the fact that RizReviewer was the only person who actually supported this chapter, she gets the free one shot. Congrats Riz, and thank you for the encouragement. **


	26. Pooka Jack Part 5

**POOKA JACK!...Need I say more?**

**No I don't own ROTG…**

Jack ran down one side of the hill, reveling in the speed and agility afforded to him in his new body. With a snicker, he ducked behind a row of bushes, his ears low as he waited. Bunny eventually ran past the young Pooka, Jack ducking behind the foliage, his blue eyes watching as Bunny bent low to sniff carefully before continuing to run past him and further down the trail. Sneaking past the shrubbery, Jack's nose twitched as he stealthily went down the path that Aster had just come up, running the opposite direction. They had been playing chase hide and seek tag for the better part of the day, and the former winter spirit was having a blast. He had explored many nooks and crannies that he had never thought to investigate as a winter sprite, but now could find them with ease as a Pooka.

With a running leap, the boy turned anthropomorphic rabbit jumped over a brush of long grass, and landed in the middle of a small enclosure. It was completely closed in by long green stalks of grass, with shorter grass in the middle, and flowers all around. Jack cocked his head, nose twitching as he took an involuntary sniff. Hundreds of smells assaulted his senses, each carrying a feeling of nostalgia, telling a story that Jack couldn't quite remember but somehow knew was important. Hesitantly hopping forward on all fours, the former winter spirit took deep drafts of the scents surrounding him, poking his nose into the grass as he searched for the one that would clear his memory. Standing up on his hind legs, a breeze blew across the enclosure, and the young rabbit closed his eyes, allowing the feeling to wash over him.

"_Come 'ere, ya Ripper!"_

Jack's eyes sprang open as the phantom voice drifted across his consciousness. A breath caught in his throat as phantoms of the past played before his eyes, like an old movie, their nearly transparent forms danced through the glen.

"_Jackie!" Aster cried planting his front paws on the ground as an invitation to play "Come on Snowball, show me what ya got!"_

_A small white ball of fluff chased him down the hill, and tackled him to the ground, Bunny laughing loudly as it snuggled underneath his chin. Rolling to lay on his side, the large Pooka smiled gently as he nudged the small ball with his nose, only to be rewarded with exuberant licks and nose touches. Aster chuckled deep in his throat, nuzzling the smaller rabbit before gently washing its face with his tongue. Snowball purred and cuddled into Bunny's fur, his eyes growing droopy, and his pink mouth stretched as he gave a large yawn. Aster smiled tenderly, before lying his own head down near his kit, and as the scene slowly disappeared, Jack heard one last thing whispered by the warrior rabbit._

"_Love ya, Snowball…"_

Jack fell on his butt on the ground, his mouth agape from the memory that had hit him with such force. He didn't remember everything, but he remembered this place, it was the nursery where he spent a large portion of his time with Aster. He remembered the Pooka feeding him, and taking care of him, and even playing with him. Backing out of the glade Jack looked around the warren, suddenly being overwhelmed by a tsunami of memories, his blue eyes unblinking as he watched each one play before his eyes.

_There was a vision of him and Bunny playing tag, the larger rabbit laughing gaily as the smaller one chased him for all he was worth._

_Another vision of Bunny cradling him in his arms, a bottle held in one hand as he lectured him for not taking his milk properly._

_Bunny freaking out when he couldn't find him, and running around like mad, only to find the kit asleep in the middle of a group of eggs._

_Bunny giving him a bath, scrubbing paint from his fur as he lectured the white(and now purple) ball of fluff about not harassing his eggs._

Words flooded his mind, various phrases drifting through his consciousness, a voice ringing from memories forgotten now being resurrected.

"_Jackie! Don't go over there, ya'll get hurt!" "Stop the cutesy act Snowball, it ain't helping matters." "Love ya, kid" "…Always be there…" "…Protect you…" "You're my kit…" "Care about ya" "You're my son…always…" "Don't feel so alone anymore." "Finally have someone to take care of…" "Kit of my own…" "…Family…" "…Miss my kind…"_

Jack hugged his knees against his chest, low hoots ringing from deep in his throat, moisture stinging his eyes as he processed what the visions meant. He never knew that Bunny had been suffering the same way that he had been, never knew that the Pooka had felt the same suffocating loneliness of not having anyone around you. North had yetis and elves, and Tooth had her baby fairies, but him and Bunny they had no one. Snow didn't speak, and eggs weren't the best conversationalists, and so the two had struggled alone. Feeling lost, and abandoned without anyone to talk to. Jack never thought about what Bunny did on his off seasons, but suddenly he looked around and realized just how big and lonely the warren seemed, and all he could do was sob in broken hearted understanding for his family member.

Wait…family member? If his memories were accurate, then his time as Snowball made Bunny see him as his kit, his son, and then it hit him…the last memory.

_Chikashi holding him by the ears, Bunny snarling, and pain, horrible mind numbing pain radiating from his head. He remembered crying out for his dad, wishing someone to save him, and then all of a sudden…he was surrounded by warmth. His vision changed as he turned to look up and saw the haggard worried face of the guardian of Hope, and felt Bunny's trembling paw check his ears to ensure no damage had been done. Jack gazed at his memory in shock, watching as the Pooka gave a comforting nuzzle to his armful, and then deposited him in a safe nook out of the path of danger. _

"_Stay here snowball" he said softly "I promise, I'll keep ya safe."_

_Standing up, and knowing that Jack was safe in the burrow, Aster was finally free to take out his boomerangs without fear of hurting his kit. Twirling them expertly in his paws, the Pooka threw a wicked grin at the trickster spirit whom had finally stepped out of the shadows to face Aster. _

"_A'right ya bludger" Bunny snarled as the fur on the back of his neck stood on end "How about I show you what happens when ya mess with a Pooka's family."_

"_But that's just it, though isn't it?" Chikashi spat "He ISN'T your family. Less than a year ago, he was a winter spirit that you despised for his immaturity and lack of control."_

"_Ya think I don't know that?" Aster snapped "Ya think I don't regret my actions in the past every time I see that kid's face? Because I do! But he is family now, and I'm going to spend the rest of eternity making sure that he knows that!"_

"_Oh please" the trickster scoffed "Your words mean nothing when your actions have quite proved otherwise, so unless you have a valid reason for why you're protecting him, I suggest you step aside and let me take the kid."_

_Limbs trembling with rage, both at himself for the way he had acted in the past, and at Chikashi for taking it upon himself to become an angel of retribution, the Pooka growled deep in his throat._

"_Ya want a reason?" he snarled "fine, I'll give ya a reason."_

_Leaping high into the air, Bunny slammed both back feet into Chikashi's chest, sending him crashing through several tree trunks "I protect him because HE'S MY KIT!"_

Jack fell backwards, his mind reeling as he felt an emotional and mental whiplash from the sudden revelation, and his ears drooped as he gasped for air. So engrossed with his confusion over the rush of memories assaulting his mind, he did not notice the grey streak of fur barreling towards him. With a large whump, the Pooka tackled the younger rabbit, and they rolled down the hill landing in a tangle of arms and legs.

"What is the point of hide and seek," Aster chuckled "if ya are sitting in the middle of the wide open?"

Jack looked up at Bunny with startled blue eyes, and quickly disentangled himself before hopping a couple of feet away and chuckling nervously "Sorry, I got distracted."

"Distracted by what?" the Pooka asked with one eyebrow cocked in genuine interest.

"N-nothing important" Jack stammered, his ears ducking behind his head "just was thinking is all."

A smirk joined the raised eyebrow "You were…thinking?"

"Don't say it so sarcastically!" Jack huffed "I DO take time out and think every once in a while."

"Whatever you say ankle biter," Aster chuckled "so what were you thinking so hard about Frostbite?"

"Uh…" The former spirit stammered turning his head to look at the ground and hugging his knees to his chest "Well…"

Bunny leaned forward so that he could look Jack in the eye "Yeah?"

Jack mumbled his answer into his knees, and Bunny cocked one ear "What ya say there Snowflake?"

Once again the Pooka got a mumbled message, and the larger rabbit gave a sigh "Look Jackie, you're gonna have to speak a little louder than that, because I can't hear ya."

Jack gave a long sigh and finally whispered "I said 'I remembered everything from when I was a baby Pooka'."

Aster felt his jaw drop, and his eyes suddenly sting with tears, while his throat clenched tight. Turning around, the bunny ran a quick paw over his eyes, trying to hide his sudden melt down "Oh" he replied in a choked voice "That's…That's good."

Jack sat in an uncomfortable silence, unsure of how to continue what was becoming a truly awkward conversation, and merely shuffled his feet "You know," he began quietly "I still don't really remember my dad."

"Huh?" Bunny turned to him, surprised by the sudden change in topic.

"My dad," the former winter spirit repeated before continuing "I don't remember him. I mean, I remember that night at Santoff Clausen, and remembering how my dad died, but other than that, I don't know him. I don't remember having a dad, except for the part where I lost him, and even though that hurt it still felt like the pain belonged to someone else…someone who knew who he really was, and loved him as a son should."

Aster pursed his lips in careful thought before answering slowly "I think, that that isn't as bad as you think it may be."

Jack turned surprise filled eyes onto the Pooka, waiting for his explanation, which Bunny readily gave.

"I mean," the Easter Bunny chuckled "in a way, it was someone else who loved… and lost yer dad. You're Jack Frost, and even though I know ya still have some elements of the original Jackson inside of ya, yer still very different from him. Ya have yer own ideas, and convictions that make ya a different person in many ways. So it isn't a bad thing to feel that way about yer dad, I'm sure he was a good man, but in the end you still have spent over three hundred years without memory of yer family, and that made you grow and develop in different ways, in good ways, ways that I wouldn't want to change for anything."

Jack felt a blush sear his face and ears, and he looked away shyly before muttering "What was your dad like?"

"Honestly?" Aster asked waiting for Jack to nod his head "That Pooka was tougher than me, and twice as grumpy."

Jack felt s surprised bark of laughter explode from his mouth as he listened to Bunny describe his father "That guy could fight against twenty of our own kind at the same time, and never get tired. He was strong, fearless, and hardheaded. You could tell him the right answer to something, but if it wasn't his idea, he wouldn't follow ya, he would do his own thing until he had no other option except for the idea ya already gave him."

"Sounds like someone I know." Jack chuckled.

"Yeah," Aster laughed "I do take after my old man, of that I know for a fact. I never did defeat him in a sparring match though, I could beat any one of the young bucks, or older warriors, but my father was one that I could never gain a win on, no matter how hard I fought."

"What happened to him?"

Aster gave a long sigh, and then scratched the back of his neck, his green eyes softening with memories of times past "Well," he began softly "he died. Just after my stripes came in, we were in the middle of a war, and my father was one of the generals at the front lines. I was itching to join the military, but my pap told me to take care of my mom and siblings, and since I was the oldest, I had to obey and watch over my kin. Before I knew it, I was out working in the fields, and got the notice from a military messenger that my father had been killed. After that, I immediately joined the military, and became a decorated officer and actually made quite the name for myself. I miss him, but I can't stay in the past, he gave me what I need to survive and now I'm living life in a way that makes me happy."

Jack looked over at the Guardian of Hope "Is that what happened to the rest of your kind?"

Bunny tensed, and then relaxed with yet another grieved sigh "They're all gone, Frostbite…Dead. My mom, my sisters, my brothers, all of my friends and even the girl I had my eye on."

"You had a girlfriend?!" Jack burst out, his blue eyes bugged out in surprise.

"Yeah, and don't sound so shocked," Bunny snapped "she was the prettiest Pooka in my whole village, and had a heart bigger than the whole world. She was kind, intelligent, and could even sing. She was perfect, in every way, and I never forgot about her."

"What did she look like?"

"She was pure white," Bunny smiled wistfully "like freshly fallen snow, and she had beautiful purple eyes, that had an almost almond slant to them with long dark lashes. And her stripes were soft lavender that twisted and curled like vines with patterns that almost looked like roses. Actually, you almost look like her in a way, almost like you were the one we never…"

Suddenly Bunny let out a violent cough, clearing his throat, and stood up. Dusting his legs off, the rabbit began to walk towards the warren, his ears drooping with grief. Jack felt a knot of guilt tie his stomach, and quickly bounded over wrapping him from behind in a hug. Hot tears trailed down the boy's face, and he clenched his eyes shut as he spoke around the ball of emotion lodged in his throat.

"I'm sorry" Jack burst "I'm sorry that I asked about something that you probably didn't want to talk about."

"Don't worry about it Snowflake," Aster smiled gently as he patted the paws gripped around his torso "It's ok."

"No it's NOT!"

Bunny froze at the cry, his ears twitching as he listened to Jack continue in a voice nearly overwhelmed by sobs.

"I-it's not o-ok," the boy turned Pooka wept "You've b-been completely alone f-for who knows h-how long, and y-your family and e-everyone you cared about are d-d-dead. I've been a jerk, and I even made you t-talk about things that are painful to you, and I n-never thought about how you must feel all alone in this warren. I was so selfish thinking that you didn't know what I was going through, and I never thought to ask. I could have been there, but I was so caught u-up in m-my problems, I never thought that m-maybe you're suffering t-too."

Bunny clenched his jaw, shutting his eyes in an attempt to stem the flow of tears springing from his eyes. Jack merely held on tighter, his voice cracking from the force of his yells. "I-I mean," he continued in broken sobs "No one knew…none of us…We just assumed that you were a workaholic bunny who enjoyed being grumpy and painting eggs, but really, we had no clue… I had no clue… That you were all alone, down here in this huge warren, and you had no one. You never let any of us know; you just pasted on a smile, and pretended that you were ok. And…we were stupid enough to fall for it."

Finally Jack just melted into uncontrollable sobs, his shoulders shaking from their force as he buried his face into Aster's back, and only the occasional apology being the only thing intelligible from his gasped weeping. Finally the Pooka turned around to face the former winter spirit, who was now gazing at the ground, his eyes downcast with shame as he wiped his eyes with one paw. Grasping the younger rabbit by his shoulders, Aster pulled him in for a hug, burying his nose into the soft fur behind Jack's ears.

"Ya don't need ta apologize Snowflake," he whispered through his tears "it was a long time ago, and I have healed. Yeah, I've been alone, but at least I have you and the other guardians. So in a way, I have my family again. I'm not saying it's perfect, but it's something."

Jack wrapped his arms around Bunny's neck, his face firmly planted in the larger Pooka's shoulder "That's not what I remember," he grumbled "when I was stuck as a baby you talked about how alone you were, and how you missed having Pookas around."

"Did not…" Bunny muttered.

"Liar" Jack retorted.

Finally the Easter bunny heaved a sigh "Fine, ya caught me," he said softly "I miss my family, I still hurt over the fact that Sabina and I never got a chance to start a family together, and I miss her more with every moment that passes. I wish that I wasn't alone, and I'm tired of constantly being the hopeful one when I personally don't have any to spare for myself."

"Then I'll help," Jack replied, snuggling further into Bunny embrace "I'll be there for you, and help you not be lonely, that's what family is for, right?"

Bunny smiled, then leaned back and ruffled the fur between Jack's ears fondly "Yer absolutely right Snowflake."

"Aw," a mocking voice called across the warren accompanied by the neigh of a horse "What a touching scene, almost makes me want to hug my pillow, and feel all warm and fuzzy."

Jack turned around, his eyes now dry, and his lip curled into a sneer "Pitch!"

"Yes," the Boogeyman smiled "but I'm not alone."

Chikashi stepped from behind the man, his mouth curled into a malicious smile full of evil intent "Hello Jack," he waved jovially "been a while, hasn't it?"

"Not long enough in my opinion," Jack muttered as he felt Bunny place a reassuring paw on his shoulder.

"Pitch," Bunny called, a low growl rumbling just beneath the surface of his words "I suggest you and your little pest leave my warrens, and if not then I promise you a world of hurt ten times worse than what you experienced when we last tangled."

"Yeah, about that" Pitch replied in a bored monotone "you seem to forget that you're sorely outnumbered. You see, I have nightmares at my disposal, and Chikashi here is skilled in spells. You are all on your lonesome, with a useless, bumbling teenage Pooka to protect."

Jack felt his heart seize with fear as he remembered that in his current state he was as good as mortal, and without his powers, he was practically defenseless. But Aster merely squeezed his shoulder in comfort, one green eye slowly winking at him. Facing Pitch once again, Jack squared his shoulders, and drew his staff from its holster on his back. Bunny stood up to his full height, and twirled his boomerangs in expert paws. They would fight, they might not win, but they would fight.

Pitch merely glared down at them, his evil grin widening to show pointy teeth before he barked;

"Get them!"

**OH MAN THIS WAS HARD TO WRITE!**

**My muse all of a sudden left me in a quivering sobbing heap, and I begged for it to return, but it ignored all my phone calls and text messages. Finally after bribing my muse with chocolate, and promises for many fluffy family and hurt/comfort chapters later on down the road, it complied with my request.**

**READ AND REVIEW!**


	27. Global Warming

**Ok, here is the request by RizReviewer, she gave me quite a few ideas and I picked the one that appealed most to my muse. Riz, I took one of your ideas, and then I'm going to wrench and tear your heart asunder with hurt/comfort…sound delicious? I thought so…hahahahaha!**

**To those wondering, my muse is not a person….it is more like a separate personality that I constantly have to pet and appease in order to actually write anything… Honestly, my muse is so picky, she constantly talks at the most inopportune times. I could be sitting in the middle of a job interview, and all of a sudden get a fic idea and start talking to myself….yeah, probably why I don't have a job.**

**Also, I'm sure I've scarred my parents beyond repair by now. I literally live with my parents in an RV, and we live on the road traveling around the country every day of the week going between California and Illinois. We are always on the road, and in the extremely tight space, my parents are forced to watch me sit and giggle maniacally to myself as I write each chapter….it's quite frightening to witness I'm sure….**

**So, as usual I still do not own ROTG, and everyone enjoy this latest installment, and yes, I am planning on updating Pooka Jack next, because that story REALLY needs to get wrapped up before you all lynch me for keeping you in suspense.**

"I'm telling you guys, it's becoming a genuine problem!"

"Here we go again," Tooth sighed before turning to Jack "were you at Jamie's place watching after school specials again?"

"No! Well, yes, but that's not the point!" Jack pouted.

It was once again the monthly guardians meeting where they discussed many much….stuff. Tedious, boring, piles of stuff that made Jack have to fight every teenage urge in his body not to roll his eyes and scream with the deep agony afflicting his senses over enduring such an occasion, but Jack took his new job seriously, and that included going to the meetings. Currently though, he had a new obsession, and that was the problem of global warming. For centuries, Jack knew that the weather was changing, and not for the better. He just never knew what was causing the changes, or why it was making him feel weaker, he just knew that it was bad and it was getting worse. But one day he had decided to go to Jamie's house, and just hang out with his first believer for an afternoon, it was there that he first learned about global warming, and that was when everything made sense.

Now he was on the warpath with the other guardians about how they can make a difference in this huge problem, but for some reason, they weren't listening "Why won't you guys understand me?"

"Look Jack," North said in a calming tone "we understand that global warming is bad thing, but it is not our problem, we protect children not change weather."

"North!" Jack wailed in frustration "Weather affects the children, don't you see that?"

"We do, sweet tooth," Toothiana said gently patting Jack's clenched fist "but the humans of the world are responsible for it. It's part of the rules, we can't touch or change any part of the world unless it hurts the children, we must remain apart and allow things to unfold as they are meant to."

"But what about things that affects us…" Jack mumbled his face downcast as he shuffled his toes along the grain of the wood floor.

"What did you say Jack?" North asked, leaning across the table straining his hearing for the quiet words whispered by the winter spirit.

Jack huffed a sigh, and then stood up quickly, firmly pulling his hood over his head and taking off out of the nearest window. Tooth and North stumbled to their feet, reaching out, grieved looks etched into their faces. North stood, his blues eyes wide with shock, as his mouth opened and closed with wordless pain. Tooth slapped her thighs in confusion, casting her gaze around the table to the other guardians, seeking the reason for Jack's most recent outburst.

"What was that about?" she spluttered.

"I have no idea" North answered vaguely.

"Please don't tell me that ya are that dense," a bored voice sighed from one side of the table.

Both Tooth and North turned to face Bunny, their eyes full of confusion, as they gave him their full attention. Bunny merely groaned, and ran an aggravated paw down his face as he pinned them with his most tolerant glare.

"Look," he began as he propped one elbow up on the table "if you take a minute and think about it, you'll realize just why Frosty is so up in arms about this whole global warming deal."

"What are you talking about?" Tooth asked softly hurt filling her eyes.

"Global warming affects nature," Bunny spoke slowly as if he were talking to children "Jackie is an elemental, meaning whatever hurts nature, hurts him."

"Oh…" Tooth murmured her hands coming up to her mouth as her face twisted in realization "Oh no…"

"Of course," North said slowly, his features becoming heavy with grief "How could I not realize?"

"Jack feels the affects of global warming more than anyone," Bunny sighed "and knowing him, he probably has been in pain because of it longer than he would be willing to tell us."

Sand suddenly floated up, a look of sorrow and desperation etched into his features. His small fists clenched on either side of him, he sent pictures across to the group telling them that they should find Jack as soon as possible in order to apologize to him. Bunny readily agreed, and soon all four had split up and went their separate ways in search of their youngest member.

….

Jack flew at top speed towards the coldest place he knew, the Antarctic, where he fully intended on sitting on the tallest glacier and sulking for at least a couple hours. Tears stung his eyes; the teen swiped them away with an angry fist, and then pulled his hood down even lower down his face. He was sick of feeling like this, like no matter how hard he tried, or how loud he screamed, nobody heard him. He wanted to become closer to the other guardians, and he knew that he still had issues over opening up to them, but he was trying. And now, the first time he tried to include them in something he genuinely cared about, they brushed him off like some kind of ignorant kid.

Finding a looming glacier hanging over a deep gorge slashing deep into the ice and falling into the ocean, Jack sat on the edge, and hugged his legs close to his chest. Burying his face into his knees, the boy felt tears begin their lonely trek down his face, and he struggled to maintain his composure. Hugging his legs tighter, the teen pulled his hood down so that not even the wind could offer comfort. He just wanted people to understand, to trust him and support him despite his issues, and to allow him the time he needed to learn how to trust. But once again, they wouldn't listen him, and once again he was alone crying on a glacier wishing things were different. He never told his new family, but the problem of global warming had been affecting him for a while now. When he was supposed to be making snow near spring, an early heat would hit, and make Jack sick. There were times where even during the winter season, the winter spirit would find himself fighting nausea and dizzy spells from the sheer amount of energy it took just to make a small flurry. This season was one of the worst times he has ever had, and Jack found himself often too weak to even leave the lake in Burgess. He had hoped that the guardians would help him without him having to confess to his weakness, but that plan went neatly down the toilet.

North wind picked at his hood, trying to make him lift his head so that it could check on him, but Jack merely waved it away, he wanted to sulk and didn't feel like being comforted right now. With one last howling sigh, the wind left Jack, and took off across the vast waters. Jack sniffled, feeling the loneliness of having all the ones he cared about leaving him, and instantly wished he had not ordered wind to go. Suddenly a loud cracking filled the air, and Jack felt the ice shift beneath him, causing him to whip his head up and claw at the ice of the glacier as it splintered off and began its descent into the ocean. Jack clawed at the ice, feeling his body begin to slide down and off into the air, falling down into the gorge. His body fell down, faster and faster, hitting the sides of the icy cliffs. Jack tried to slow his descent by using his staff and calling for the wind, but as he held onto the staff a boulder of ice hit him, causing his staff to fly from his hands and begin its own descent many feet away.

With a bone cracking splash, the winter spirit crashed into the frigid waters, his body stretching out as he flailed about in an attempt to swim. His head surfaced as he gulped air into his burning lungs, and he struggled to stay afloat with panicky desperate arms, his eyes wide with fear. Again and again, he strove to swim, but each time he began to sink into the waters and his mind would blank overcome by the terror filled memories of when he had drowned. Grabbing onto a chunk of ice, Jack clung to the floating piece of frozen water, his shoulders shaking violently from the trembles running through his limbs. Looking over the water, Jack saw his staff sitting on top of a thin sheet of ice floating by itself in the middle of the gorge, and with weak paddles he attempted to reach it. But it seemed that fate was against him, because just as he was only a few feet away, a large chunk of ice detached itself from the side of the glacier and crashed down on the staff. Searing pain exploded in Jack's chest as he felt the piece of wood splinter into pieces, and his vision swam as spots began to dance in front of his eyes.

His chest heaved as he gasped for breath, his hand clutching the front of his shirt, and he groaned as his limbs became numb. Slowly he slipped off the ice and sunk into the water, his eyes drifting closed as he lost consciousness, and fell down into the dark depths. It was then that a large splash was heard, and strong arms wrapped around Jack, dragging him up to the surface. With a gasp, Bunny broke the surface, Jack's limp form lying against his chest. With a harsh slap on the back, the rabbit was relieved to see Jack begin deep shuddering gasps accompanied by wracking coughs filled with gurgles of water.

"I've got 'im!" the Pooka yelled "Sandy, you get his staff, I'll find us some solid ground and make a tunnel and get him back to the Pole!"

Sandy nodded his affirmative, and set about gathering the staff, his face set in hard concentration as he made sure he found every last piece. Bunny swam to the side of the gorge, his paw holding onto the side of the icy cliff, as he searched for a ledge wide enough to make a magical tunnel on. Finally a ledge was found and Bunny dragged himself and the small spirit onto it, and then stood with Jack cradled in his arms, both of them dripping water. Tapping his foot, the rabbit sighed at the tunnel, and dove in quickly wishing for a roaring fire and a steaming mug of herbal tea. Within moments, the trio made it back to the Pole, and Bunny had Phil contacting North and Toothiana about the fact that Jack had been found.

What was truly worrying though was the way Jack was trembling, and his face was flushed with fever, not to mention the fact that every few minutes the boy would clutch his chest with a pained whimper. Running a worried paw through the silver locks, Bunny snuffled the boy's temple with his nose in an attempt to comfort him, and for a moment it worked. But in no time at all, Jack was once again curling into himself, and crying out as his hands clawed at his chest. He remembered the time when he had found out about Jack's fear of water, and inability to swim. It was after that incident that Bunny became a little more protective of the kid, ensuring that he quickly derailed any ideas for pool parties and such, and also seeking the boy out when he went missing for too long. So finding him in that condition, sinking into the inky depths of the Arctic ocean, and his staff smashed to pieces Aster was bound to have a mini heart attack. At least this latest rescue attempt wouldn't result in the both of them being pink for a week, though the Pooka could already feel his own body becoming wracked with shivers, and his teeth chattered from the swan dive into sub zero waters.

Sandy saw Bunny place the winter child onto a couch, and sit on the floor next to their youngest member, his muscular frame all the more visible from the wet fur plastered against his body and the shivers causing every muscle to flex and jump. Floating to his side, the golden man waved desperate arms, alerting his friend that Bunny needed to dry off and warm up quickly lest hypothermia set in, but the Pooka was nothing if not stubborn and firmly shook his head, his emerald gaze never leaving the face of the suffering winter spirit. Sandy glared at his friend, his lips curling in a thoughtful pout, before his face brightened with an idea. Floating to the fireplace in the sitting room, Sandy set about lighting a roaring fire, and once it was crackling made firm gestures that Bunny was to sit next to it. That way he could get warm, and keep an eye on the boy at the same time, effectively killing two birds with one stone so to speak.

Bunny looked between the agonized form of Jack, and the fire, and finally with a sigh of resignation hopped over to the flames. Shaking himself, he groomed his fur in desperate movements trying to dry himself off as soon as possible so to return to Jack's side, Sandy noted this and floated over to Jack his golden eyes soft with worry over the boy's condition. Using his dream sand, the golden man brought the pieces of Jack's staff over to him, giving a silent sigh of relief that it had only broken in half, and not been destroyed beyond repair. Judging by the boy's reaction to its being broken, Sandy was sure that it being splintered into more than two pieces would cause irreparable injury to their youngest. Even though, just seeing how Jack was in pain from its current condition, Sandy shuddered to think of what it would be like should such a thing occur to his staff.

Bunny, now dry enough to be comfortable and safe from sickness, hopped over his nose twitching in anxiety as he snuffled the boy's temple causing Jack to let out a whimper and lean into the Pooka's touch. Blue eyes fluttered open, and Jack gazed at his family member, tears slowly trickling down his face.

"B-bunny" he rasped "it h-hurts, please…m-make it s-st-stop."

"Ok mate," Bunny said comfortingly "we're gonna take care of ya, don't worry."

"N-no," Jack gasped wincing as one hand clutched his shirt in momentary pain "I n-need to f-f-fix my staff, I can f-fix it, b-but I need it, the p-pain won't stop until it's fixed."

Aster gave a heavy sigh, and propped the winter child up until he could slip in behind him on the couch and cradle his shivering body his arms. Jack clung to the fur, and buried his face in Bunny's broad chest, every childish instinct that had been preserved within him since his untimely demise crying out for an adult to hold and comfort him, to take away the pain and reassure him that everything was going to be ok. Biting his bottom lip, Jack struggled against the pained sobs crawling up his throat over the sheer amount of agony afflicting his senses, and scooted further into the Pooka's embrace. Aster merely gathered him up into his lap, the way one would for a small child, and hugged him close.

"Jackie," Bunny murmured after a few moments "are ya ready?"

"Yeah" Jack sniffled giving a weak nod of affirmation.

"Good" Aster cooed comfortingly "now, I'm gonna hold ya, and we can tackle this here thing together, ok?"

Once again a nod from the head currently buried in his fur signified Jack's cooperation and Bunny held out one paw for Sandy to place the pieces in his waiting hand. The golden man solemnly handed the broken wood over, Aster nodding in thanks, before the Pooka gently detached Jack's trembling hands from his fur, and nudged the broken wood into his fingers. Sniffling, the pained winter spirit wiped his eyes with on hand, the broken staff barely gripped in the other. He felt so weak, and tired, and the pain from his staff breaking is only making the problem worse.

"Jackie…" Bunny said softly nudging the boy's temple with his muzzle "What's wrong mate?"

"I…I c-can't hold it…" the boy choked out "My h-hands….they're too w-weak…they're always weak…especially t-these days."

Bunny felt surprised mixed with stark realization explode in his mind and let out a sigh, lowering his voice to a whisper, he asked gently "Is this why you're so up in arms about Global Warming, are you being affected more than you're letting on?"

Jack bit his bottom lip, tears streaming faster down his cheeks, and with a nod he buried his face into Bunny's chest in shame. Bunny wrapped his arms tighter around the winter child, snuggling the white head beneath his chin, and rubbing his back soothingly. "How long has it been like this Jackie?"

"It started a-almost a century a-ago." Jack sniffled, one hand wiping his eyes free of tears only to be covered by more of the falling liquid "b-but it's been g-getting worse."

"Don't worry boyo," Bunny soothed snuffling the winter spirit's temple as fear and worry battled with Hope for the future "you will become stronger, and you're getting more believers every day. With more believers, comes more power, and soon ya won't even feel the strain of having to control the weather despite Global Warming."

"H-how do you kn-know?" Jack shuddered.

"Because," Bunny smiled fondly "when I first started as a guardian, I barely knew how to properly hide eggs, and often found myself in the smaller version of mahself. It wasn't easy, but I became stronger, and so will you."

Jack snuggled as close as he could possibly manage, gripping Bunny's fur, his tear stained face turned into the Pooka's chest. He sat like that for almost ten minutes before once again reaching out a shaking hand towards the broken pieces of wood. Once again, weak fingers fumbled with the now heavy wood, and Bunny caught them. Holding the wood and Jack's hands in his capable paws, Aster breathed deeply and let it out slowly; waiting till the boy began to copy his breathing pattern before continuing the process towards fixing the staff. Finally Jack seemed prepared, and the duo brought the two ends of the broken staff together, Jack gritted his teeth as a pained whine began building in his throat. Light slowly flickered and grew, enveloping the broken staff, and Jack's whines grew from whimpers to full out screams. Energy poured from the child, his voice growing raw as scream after scream of pained agony ripped through his vocal chords, causing his body to tense and back arch as his eyes glowed bright white blue from the sheer amount of magic he had to force behind forging his staff back together. Aster grit his teeth, his ears ducked low as he fought to keep his paws steady, and not tear the staff away from the child and cease his torment.

Finally the light dimmed, leaving Jack convulsing in Aster's arms, his staff now fixed lay forgotten on the floor. Bunny held Jack, one paw keeping his head steady so that he would not hurt himself, while the other paw pinned his arms to his sides. After about five minutes, the boy finally calmed slipping into unconsciousness, and simply lay limp and gasping in his family member's arms. North and Tooth came bursting through the door, their eyes wide with fear, and their weapons at the ready. Looking between Bunny and Jack, the duo dropped their arms, and sighed with both confusion and aggravation.

"What is wrong?" North cried "We come back after hearing you found Jack, and hear screaming."

"Jack is fine," Bunny sighed "we just had to fix his staff, and it took more out of him than we intended."

"What do you mean 'fix his staff'?!" Tooth exclaimed as horror filled her features.

The Pooka let out a groan, knowing he would have a long story to tell, and situated himself into a more comfortable position so to hold Jack and allow him to sleep more soundly. "Look" he said lowly so as not to wake the child "I was right when I said that Global Warming has been hurting Snowflake. Apparently, he's been feeling it's affects for over a century, and the ankle biter is running out of strength to do his job, much less live. He went to Antarctica to think for a bit after we scared him off, and because the Polar ice caps are melting, he ended up falling into a gorge and nearly drowning in the ocean with blooming boulders of ice crashing around his head and breaking his staff. Just fixing it caused more strain on the poor kid's heart, and to be perfectly honest, if we don't do something right quick he might not survive the next century!"

Tooth felt a sob lodge in her throat, and she and North cast guilt ridden eyes to the floor "I'm so sorry," the fairy began to weep "I should have listened, should have taken more time to understand just why Jack felt it was such a big problem."

"Indeed," North nodded solemnly "we have said that we are family to Jack, but we are still acting like old guardians. Set apart, and cold, without really caring about anything besides ourselves. It is big problem, one we must fix."

Bunny opened his mouth to assure them that yes, they were idiots, and yes they definitely needed to apologize to the winter spirit, but was silenced when a soft whimper sounded from his arms. Azure orbs fluttered open to look upon Bunny, and Jack gave a weak smile at his brother, his chest heaving from the shallow gasps of breath being dragged into his lungs. Aster dipped his head, and snuffled Jack's forehead, heaving a relieved sigh when he noticed that the fever he had originally had, was already beginning to fade. Jack groaned in playful irritation, but did not push him away, merely allowing the rabbit to fuss over him. North knelt next to the couch, and Tooth accompanied him, both looking at Jack with faced etched in grief.

"Jack," North spoke softly "we are sorry, we should have listened to you."

"It's ok North" Jack croaked.

"No, it's not sweet tooth" Toothiana sighed "we were wrong by brushing you off, please forgive us."

"I forgive you" the boy yawned with a soft smile.

"Good," North smiled as he tenderly ran his hand through the boy's white hair "we do not want to lose you Jack, I hope you know that."

"I do…" Jack mumbled his eyes drooping closed as sleep slowly overtook him.

The next day, all were still tired and recovering from their adventure the previous evening, but Jack was on a mission. The Yetis were watching in confused amusement as the child dragged box after box into the meeting room. Finally after hours of work, the Guardians reconvened in order to finish the meeting that had been cut short the night before. Walking in, all four were struck dumb in slack jawed amazement as they took in the sight that Jack had worked so hard to prepare.

Maps, graphs, pictures, and countless other things were set up around the room, and the table even had pamphlets neatly written with all the research done concerning Global Warming. Jack stood in the middle, a metal pointer in hand, and fake glasses on his face so to look more professional while lecturing. Bunny fought back the guffaw crawling up his throat by covering it up with a cough, and sat down, his green eyes slowly reading the leaflet before him. Sandy gave a silent chuckle, and North and Tooth exchanged looks of tolerant amusement before they took their own seat. Jack thus began his lecture, pacing up and down, and reciting his learned knowledge of the problem.

To say that the Guardians found a solution to Global Warming would be wrong, but nonetheless, Jack found that by the end of his lecture he was happy to discover that they had not only stayed awake for the entire thing, but Bunny was even taking notes…or maybe he was doodling…. either way though, he was able to show them the problem currently plaguing the world, and they even discussed possible counter measures. Of course those had more to do with how to protect Jack from feeling the effects of Global Warming, and little to do with fixing the problem itself, but at least it was addressed and Jack was able to leave the meeting room feeling accomplished.

Such is the story with Jack and his obsession with Global Warming and how it managed to affect the guardians, but not in the way he expected.

**Hope you are happy Riz, because I think that may have been one of my longest chapters yet!**

**We are at 442 reviews, meaning that if you guys work extra hard, with the next chapter I should be able to announce the next winner of the One Shot request contest. So READ, and REVIEW…and let's see who the lucky winner is THIS time!**


	28. Human Bunny1

**OK I LIED! I am discovering that it is going to be really hard to close out Pooka Jack, so I am going to work on an epic, super long chapter that will tie up and finish that arc. So while I'm working on it, I thought that I would post a preview to the next arc, being this chapter right here. . . **

**So if you guys want me to make this the new arc after Pooka Jack, you have to REVIEW and tell me your opinion…**

**As always, I do not own ROTG**

Bunny sat by the lake at Burgess, his wooden easel with canvas set up with paint spread all around him, it was well into spring, and Jack had already left for the North Pole due to his sensitivity to heat. Bunny was checking on his favorite believer, Sophie, and decided to stop by Jack's lake to ensure all was well there. With deft strokes, the rabbit painted the scene before him, of the lake and the beautiful flowers decorating its shores. A small smile quirked one side of the Pooka's mouth as he softly added more detail to the lilacs growing near the large oak that stood on the rock outcropping hanging over the water, and on a whim Aster painted in the scene the sleeping figure of the winter spirit. Sitting back, he admired his work, his keen gaze taking in every detail. He knew that such a thing would be impossible for the sprite, but for some reason, any type of painting of this particular lake would feel wrong without Jack in it.

Stretching his long arms up above his head, Bunny let out a large yawn as his back popped, and then settled back against the chair he had brought with him. If he let it sit like this in the cool spring breeze with the warm sun shining on it, the pain would dry in no time, and Aster felt sure that it would be a great addition to his collection of nature scenes in the gallery back at the Warren. Leaning his head back until it hung almost upside down over the back of the chair; Bunny felt an ear twitch when he noticed something strange resting under one of the nearby trees. It was an Easter egg, and what was strange, was that it was not one that he had made. It was light blue with delicate green vines painted around it, and white roses spotting it, as well as moon gazer lilies accenting the background.

Pursing his lips in an impressed silence, the rabbit gently picked up the egg, and peered at it with emerald eyes. But then his heart plummeted, and his stomach burned with supreme irritation, the egg was plastic, and had merely been painted on. Aster gave a small harrumph of displeasure, before cracking the paint and opening the egg, curious to see what lay inside this faux googie. With a pop, the plastic oval opened, and strange glittering purple powder was expelled in a large cloud surrounding the rabbit. Bunny accidentally inhaled it, giving a hard sneeze, and then after shaking his head to clear away the dust peeked inside the egg. Inside, covered by the strange dust was simply a written message on a small piece of paper.

"_Happy Easter"_

Bunny felt one eyebrow raise, and he looked at the paper, and at the egg before suddenly a hard jolt of vertigo slapped him across the face. The Pooka leaned against a tree, one paw dragging down his face as he fought the persistent waves of dizziness afflicting his senses, but it seemed that his problems were only beginning. Suddenly his body felt like it had burst on fire, and every bone and muscle in his form shrieked in agony as the anthropomorphic rabbit fell to the ground with a scream of tortured pain. Paws wrapping around his body, the bunny kicked and bucked as his bones felt like they were turning into hot wax, and began to bend and reshape themselves at odd angles. He felt his frame begin to shrink, and his ears withered away. Aster gasped as pain wracked every nerve ending, causing him to sob and cry out, tears streaming down his face from the waves of horrible torment wracking his body.

"N-north…" the Pooka gasped as his vision began to grow dark "Tooth…Sandy…Jack…someone…help!"

Far away at the North Pole, Jack lounged on a window seat in the large library owned by Santa, his feet propped up by a mountain of books he had yet to read. A happy smile decorated his face as he devoured what was probably his tenth book, and he wiggled his feet in expectation of the ending, something he was only just a few pages away from discovering. North sat not too far away, pencil in hand, and another pencil behind one ear, sketching out some blueprints for his next invention. Elves played around on the floor, and Yetis quietly restocked books, glancing over at the boy and their boss every few minutes reassuring themselves that the two were amply taken care of. Jack sighed, turning to the next page, and North looked up at the winter child a fond smile lighting his features at the boy's content nature.

Unfortunately the peace was not meant to last.

Suddenly dark sand began to flow over the bookshelves causing North to jump to his feet shouting for Jack to come to his side. The winter spirit launched himself into the air, his eyes wildly going back and forth as he watched the waves of black sand writhe and gush between books and over the shelves. A black shadow was cast against one wall, and a bone chilling laugh resounded amongst the rafters, having Jack and North stand back to back with their weapons raised waiting for the inevitable attack. But it never came.

"Well, well, well" came a voice as dark as the shadows that it echoed from "if it isn't Jack Frost and good old Saint Nick. Count yourself lucky that I'm unable to maintain a solid form, otherwise you would have been cast into oblivion by now."

"Yeah," Jack retorted with a lazy grin directed to North over his shoulder "somehow I don't buy it, I mean you defeating us hasn't worked out so well in the past."

North let out a bellow of laughter, winking at the winter spirit "The boy speaks truth Pitch, it is best that you do not mess with what you cannot fight. The guardians are family, and together, we are strong."

"Interesting," Pitch sighed in boredom "because I was just about to make that point myself."

"Wait… What?" the sprite stammered.

Pitch laughed, sending shivers of fear running down Jack's spine "You see, I realized that your little team in practically unbeatable…if you're all together, but if I were to remove one of you from the equation…well then…"

Suddenly unease burst inside Jack's chest, and his stomach burned in fear "What did you do?" he asked in a voice barely above a whisper.

Pitch let out another low laugh full of evil intent "Nothing much," he chuckled "but I realized something else while I've been thinking, and that is it is one thing to take away dreams from the world but it is nothing compared to when you take away Hope."

Jack's eyes widened and he clutched his staff closer to his chest as his heart beat wildly with terror "….Bunny…"

"Yes, Bunny" Pitch snapped maliciously "I wonder how he's doing right about now, especially after he finds my little gift that I had one of my pets leave for him at your lake."

"NO!"

Without another thought, Jack jumped out the window, flying full speed towards Burgess. He barely comprehended North yelling something about it being spring and that Jack would get heatstroke, but the winter sprite couldn't care less, one of his family was in danger and he needed to get there to save him.

Bunny lay on the grass, his chest heaving as he fought to drag air into his burning lungs, tears trickling down his face as he numbly stared out into the middle distance. He didn't know what happened, and honestly he was in too much agony to try to even check, all he knew was that a drastic change had taken place and that his body screamed for mercy from the torture. Feebly, one of his legs twitched, and Aster had to fight back the shriek of pain that wanted to rip its way from his mouth. A whimper slipped up his throat and out his mouth, causing the rabbit to swallow back a heavy sob. How long he lay there, the Pooka had no idea, but eventually the pain died away, and he was slowly able to move various limbs without the harsh repercussions. Suddenly pounding footsteps ran up on his right, and the rabbit eased his head towards the sound, his vision swaying and wobbling as he struggled to focus on the figure racing to his side.

"BUNNY!"

'Frostbite?' Aster thought through his pain induced stupor 'How did he know to come here?'

Jack was running up the Aster's prone form, sweat from the heat getting in his eyes, and the easel and canvas blocking his view from seeing the Easter Bunny. Wiping the stinging saltwater from his eyes, the boy felt his world tilt as he stumbled towards his brother, it wasn't until he came past the easel that he got his first real look at the rabbit. A teenage boy, roughly eighteen years old, lay naked on the ground clad only in Pooka armor hanging loosely from his frame. Defined muscles rippled across his form, and strange markings that looked almost like tattoos decorated his skin. The only thing that remained of the former rabbit was his grayish blue and silver hair, and bright emerald eyes.

Bunny had been turned human…

**So that was the preview, I know it was short, but I hope you liked it. Remember to REVIEW and tell me your opinions on whether I should write this or not.**

**I also have plans on turning Jack into a toddler, anyone up for that idea, let me know what you think.**

**PEACE!**


	29. Pooka Jack part 6

**No I do not own ROTG…and probably never will….**

**Here it is! The uber long, final installment of POOKA JACK! Enjoy, and don't forget to review about what you thought about how it ended!**

Jack slowly came to, his head throbbing from the immense headache battering him from the inside out behind his eyeballs, and a soft groan escaped his lips as he strained to lift his body off the cold stone floor. A scream of pain wrenched itself from his throat as he moved the leg that he now discovered was broken, and the boy turned rabbit collapsed back onto the floor, his chest heaving as he gasped in pain. Opening his eyes, the former sprite looked around him, his blue eyes taking in every detail. He was in a room, chained to the wall, with on door made of glistening black iron bars. Leaning against the wall Jack thought back, struggling to remember how he and Bunny had been captured, and brought down to Pitch's lair against their will.

_Pitch merely glared down at them, his evil grin widening to show pointy teeth before he barked;_

"_Get them!"_

"_With pleasure!" Chikashi snarled as he ran down the hill accompanied by over a dozen nightmares._

_Jack twirled his staff, his eyes on the enemy running towards them, and Bunny jabbed the young Pooka with an elbow "Oi, snowflake…"_

"_What?" Jack grunted as he took his fighting stance._

"_Bet I can knock Chikashi off his high horse before you"_

_Jack let out a snort at Bunny's challenge "We'll see about that Kangaroo!"_

_Aster barked out a laugh as he dove forward and began pummeling nightmares around him "You say that now mate," he chuckled as he neatly exploded two nightmares at once "but if I'm a kangaroo, then that makes YOU a Joey!" _

"_What's a Joey?" Jack asked ducking and weaving between nightmares as his staff whirled around him causing each one to explode into black dust._

"_A baby Kangaroo!"_

"_HEY!" Jack yelled indignantly his face taking on an endearing pout as he leapt high in the air and slammed his foot into a nightmare's face._

_Aster paused for a moment, catching a boomerang in one paw, and giving Jack an impressed smile "Hey! That wasn't a bad move!"_

"_Thanks!" Jack panted "Some old rabbit with an egg obsession taught me that."_

"_Sounds like a pretty hardcore guy," the older rabbit grinned "I think I'd like to meet him!"_

_The boy turned Pooka laughed gaily sidestepping one nightmare and slamming another to the ground "Let me warn you, he's a tad grumpy!"_

_Bunny guffawed before stopping in his movements and pinning his young friend with a playful glare "I am not!" he exclaimed._

"_Are too!" Jack crowed._

"_Are not!"_

"_Yeah…you are…"_

_Chikashi watched the two banter, his eyebrow twitching in aggravation before he finally screeched "Will you two stop ignoring me?!"_

_Jack and Bunny looked over at the fuming trickster, the former winter spirit melting into a round of giggles "Sorry Chick, I forgot you were even here."_

"_You arrogant, self centered, worthless piece…" Chikashi snarled "Don't give me nicknames!"_

"_Oi, no reason for name callin'," Bunny rebuked his paws flying as he destroyed nightmare after nightmare "besides, ya can't really blame the kid for yer lack of presence."_

"_My…" Chikashi stopped his face going blank and jaw dropping at the Pooka's words "My lack…of presence?"_

"_Yeah," Jack shrugged before flying into a spinning kick that demolished several Nightmares "you can be in the room, but I can't help it if I don't notice you. You should try being more true to yourself, and not hiding behind other people begging for approval."_

"_Nice kick!" Bunny shouted ducked before dealing out a devastating uppercut to the ebony equine._

"_Thanks!" Jack replied and he ducked and rolled along the ground avoiding flint hooves._

"_You want to notice me; you want me to make you acknowledge my presence…?" Chikashi growled his clenched fists held in front of a twisted grimace etched with unbridled fury before screaming "How about I show you what I'm capable of?!"_

_Suddenly the native American spirit flung his hands into the air, his face contorting and shifting into a macabre mask full of darkness and death. His jaw stretched as his mouth grew dark and his teeth sharpened into points, and green venom with smoke flowing off dripped from each gleaming canine. With a voice that sounded like the rumblings of a long dead demon, the trickster began to chant an ancient spell, flinging both Bunny and Jack into perpetual darkness. _

_Aster stood in an endless void, blackness surrounding him, and his heart beat wildly in his chest as he whirled around in all directions straining to see anything that could lead him out of his current situation. "Jack?" he yelled tremulously "Jackie, are ya there mate?"_

"_Bunny….Bunny…"_

_The rabbit turned, hearing Jack's voice and ran further into the dark "Jack! I'm right here Snowflake, where are ya?"_

"_Bunny…help!"_

"_I'm coming Jackie, just hang on!"_

_Running farther and farther, Bunny finally saw a speck of light grow into the entrance of a cave, with a field beyond. Stepping out of the cave into the open air, Bunny was shocked to see the bodies of the guardians lying on the ground, broken and bleeding…Dead. Turning around, the rabbit saw Jack in his human body lying on the ice of his lake, a large gash in his stomach and blood staining his pale lips. Hopping to his side at a sprint, the Pooka cradled the boy's head in his arms, tears leaking out in distress over Jack's condition._

"_Frostbite…" he gasped "What happened, last I remember we were in the warren, I don't understand."_

"_You…" Jack coughed weakly "You left…why did you leave me?"_

"_What do you mean I left," Aster spluttered "We were attacked, Chikashi did some mojo on us, and we were sucked in, I never left ya, not even for a second."_

"_You abandoned me," Jack sobbed "we were helpless, and you left us to die."_

"_No…No I didn't!" Bunny cried trying to gather the child into his arms "I'm right here, no one is dead, this is just a whammy that Chikashi pulled. We're all gonna be fine!" _

_Jack opened his mouth to answer, but a frightening rattle shook in the base of his throat, and then the blue eyes dulled and rolled in the back of his head, the winter spirit's body growing impossibly limp and heavy. Aster felt his heart speed up at an erratic speed as he watched the blood from Jack's lips slowly trickle down his cheek and drip onto his paw. His chest heaving, the Pooka felt himself begin to hyperventilate as he fell into a panic attack. Holding the child close, the Easter Bunny shook him, first with a gentle jostle and then a hard shake._

"_Jack! Jackie! Please Jack, ya gotta wake up mate," Bunny wept "P-please, ya need to open yer eyes Snowflake. J-jack? Frostbite….Please…don't leave me here alone…JACK!"_

"…_.Bunny…?"_

_Aster whirled around at the feminine voice, and his breath caught in his throat "Sabine?"_

_A female Pooka stood, her pure white outline backed by the blood red sun setting behind the mountains, her purple eyes narrow with confusion and hurt "what did you do to our son?"_

_Turning back around Bunny gaped at the dead body he had been holding, now in the form of the white Pooka that Jack had been turned into "I….I…I don't understand…This shouldn't be happening."_

"_A lot of things should not have happened," Sabine whispered as a breeze kicked up and ruffled her fur sending the lavender stripes dancing across her form "but they happened nonetheless. You abandoned us, abandoned me, you left us to die, and now the boy you see as a replacement for the children we could never have lays dead in your arms…just like everyone else you have ever cared for. You're poison Aster, and you know it… You alone are the cause for the suffering of those around you, and you do not deserve to be the Guardian of Hope, not when you have so little of it for yourself."_

"_S-Sabine," Bunny gasped his vision growing spotty from the lack of air entering his lungs due to hyperventilation "P-please, I-I didn't mean to…It's not my fault…PLEASE!"_

…_.._

"_Bunny?" Jack called "BUNNY!"_

_Nothing…_

"_Come on Kangaroo," the former spirit whined stomping his foot in irritation "SAY SOMETHING!" _

_Suddenly the darkness folded back, and Jack found himself in the middle of a crowded street. Looking down, the boy realized that he was back in his old body, and his staff was missing. Whirling around, Jack saw countless people on every side, each one passing through him causing the familiar pain to shoot through his body. The winter sprite shook his head, no he could handle this, and after all he still had Jamie right? Unable to fly without his staff, Jack jumped up and down, trying to find his first believer, and finally caught sight of him outside of a nearby store. Running through the masses, Jack reached out to grab Jamie's shoulder, but felt a horrified gasp spring from his lips when the pale hand went through. _

"_J-Jamie," Jack asked hoarsely as his chest began to heave in panic "Jamie, c-come on buddy, it's me Jack….JAMIE!"_

_Nothing…Jamie merely turned around and went right through him…Leaving Jack a huddled mass on the sidewalk._

"_No….Nonononono…" the winter spirit moaned as he softly began to rock back and forth "This…it isn't happening…It CAN'T be happening!"_

_Standing back up, Jack raced down the street, his face a permanent wince as person after person walked through him, and tears streaming down his cheeks as panic turned his face an even whiter shade of pale. He ran like that for a good ten minutes before finally catching sight of the guardians. Why they were out and about on the street in the middle of the day, Jack didn't know nor care, all he wanted was for someone to acknowledge his existence. Running up to them, he pasted on his biggest smile, and wiped his face free of tears._

"_North!" he whooped "Tooth, Sandy, Bunny!"_

_None of the four even twitched, acting as if they had never heard him, and Jack walked up in front of them waving his arms "Guys?" he panted eyes wide in fear "North? Tooth? … Sandy?"_

_Whirling around, the boy looked at the large Pooka, stumbling as he struggled to keep up with them as they walked alongside the huddled masses "Bunny," the word came out as a choked sob "Come on Kangaroo, look at me…"_

_Still nothing, and Jack felt his heart begin to crack. Stretching his arms out, he launched himself at the group, attempting to grab someone, anyone, who would speak to him. "Somebody LOOK AT ME!" he cried in a broken scream._

_But just as it was with everyone else… He passed through them._

_With desperate hands, the boy reached and swiped, his hands passing through his family. Countless times he tried to stop them, and each time the guardians passed through him, until finally Jack lay on the sidewalk, his heart shattered and trampled, weeping in wrenching broken sobs. _

Jack grimaced as he was brought back to reality. However Chikashi had put that whammy on him, he certainly had his facts straight on how to hit him below the belt. The boy only knew that it had to have been during that horrible nightmare created by their enemy that he and Bunny were taken prisoner. Jack felt his heart seize with fear as he wondered what Bunny saw, the winter sprite knew that his vision was his deepest fear made real, and the child could only hope that Bunny was ok. Right at that moment though, all Jack wanted to do was go back to the warrens where he felt safe. But he wasn't sure how they would escape, and to be honest, his heart felt too bruised to try. He was scared, worried that it wasn't really just a nightmare and the guardians had really forgotten about him, that he was invisible. He couldn't handle it if that were true, and Jack didn't feel strong enough to check.

"Jack….Jack, can you hear me mate?"

The former winter spirit's ears twitched at the familiar voice, though something about it sounded off, almost…broken.

"Bunny?" Jack responded in a hoarse voice "Is that you?"

"Oh thank God…" the Aussie nearly wept "I'm comin', just keep talkin' Snowflake, I'll find ya!"

Shifting his good leg beneath him, the younger Pooka slowly stood, his broken leg dragging along the floor awkwardly. The chains connected to his wrists rattled as he tested out their hold to the stone. With Bunny's help, he might get out by pulling the chains free of the wall, but he wouldn't know until the Pooka got here. Turning his head, Jack continued a steady stream of words, slowly guiding Aster to his location until he finally saw the guardian of Hope standing outside his cell door. At least, it looked like the guardian, but there was something different about him that made Jack pause.

"Bunny?" the former winter sprite asked hesitantly.

"Yeah mate?" Bunny gave a weak smile as he opened the door.

"You ok?"

"Huh?" Aster quickly directed his eyes away from Jack "Yeah, I-I'm fine…nothing's wrong."

Jack examined the Pooka as Bunny went about pulling the chain from the wall. There was something…off about the guardian, almost like he had become…duller. His emerald eyes had lost their shine, and his coat was lacking its usual gloss. Jack knew that their imprisonment could very easily be the cause for the state of his fur, but he could not deny the fact that something within him squirmed in discomfort, something was very wrong with his friend. Blue eyes narrow with worry, Jack leaned forward, and softly snuffled Bunny's head, nudging it with his muzzle. Aster looked back at him, his face etched with confusion, before once again quickly looking away his ears drooping to the back of his head.

"Bunny…" Jack said softly "I don't think everything is ok, something's wrong."

"No there isn't…" Bunny grunted as he gave one final pull his eyes watching the chains fall to the floor.

"Yeah," the former winter spirit sighed "there is."

"And I'm tellin' ya Snowflake" the rabbit snapped "that there isn't, so lay off!"

Jack's ears dropped to the back of his head in hurt silence as he regarded the Easter Bunny. In truth, the teen knew what Aster was feeling, knew what it felt like to want to hide a problem from everyone else for fear of what might happen. But he had no idea how to help the Pooka, or how to even broach the topic with him, all he knew was that something was wrong and it made Jack nervous…even a tad scared. Heaving a heavy sigh, the former winter spirit hobbled over to the wall, his leg held up as he leaned against a weak paw. He had a feeling that it had something to do with the vision that Chikashi cast on him, something that Jack felt he wasn't truly ready to speak with Bunny about, and he feared for what horrible nightmare his friend had been forced to live through.

Remembering the vision, Jack repressed a shudder and then cast his eyes back to the troubled form of the Guardian of Hope "So…uh…what next?"

"We get out of here, that's what," Bunny growled as he looped one of the younger guardian's arms around his neck and helped him in a slow but steady walk out of the cell into the bleak hallway "and then I drop you off at North's."

"Wait…WHAT?!" Jack exclaimed his surprise nearly making the pair stumble.

"Ya heard me Snowflake," the rabbit retorted, his emerald eyes never leaving the path in front of them "The warren isn't a good place for ya, the Pole has better defenses, and North is better suited for the task of takin' care of ya."

Blue eyes full of hurt narrowed with confusion "That's a lie and you know it, North left me with you, and I want to stay in the warren."

"No ya don't…" the Pooka gave a grieved sigh.

"How do you know what I want?" Jack spat roughly pushing himself away and limping to the side of the hallway before casting azure eyes wet with hurt and icy with fear on the larger Pooka "Or is it…" he asked in a trembling voice "You just don't want me there anymore, and you want to get rid of me?"

"What?" Aster gasped in genuine shock.

"That's it, isn't it?" Jack asked, his eyes becoming filled with tears as memories of the horrible nightmare he endured flashed back to the forefront of his mind.

"NO!"

"Then why?!" the former sprite snarled in agony as tears began a slow trek down their cheeks "I finally get a family, finally remember what it was like to have a dad, and you just want to pawn me off on North because…because….you're sick of me? Because I'm not good enough?"

"T-that's not true!" Aster stammered.

"Then what is the truth?" Jack asked in a broken sob "Because honestly, I thought that after remembering the time as a baby, and the time we spent together, I thought THAT was the truth, but obviously I was wrong!"

"No, you're not," Bunny attempted to placate "all of that is true, and I care about ya."

"Then why….?" The boy asked quietly his ears drooping with sorrow "Why can't I stay?"

Bunny's mind reeled as he frantically searched for the words to explain why he no longer wished Jack to stay in the Warrens "Because…" he said weakly "I…I'm just…I'm not…"

"You know what?" Jack snapped his eyes suddenly dry and flaring with anger "Stop trying to tell me more lies, I'm tired of being ignored, and passed over…Whatever, I give up."

Aster watched Jack limp down the hall in slack jawed shock one paw reaching out to the forlorn figure "Jack, please…"

The former winter spirit paused long enough to let out a soft sigh before once again continuing his slow progress towards what he hoped would lead to an exit. Aster collapsed against the cold stone wall before sliding down to the floor, his paws coming up to grip the fur on his head as he realized that he had yet again betrayed and hurt Jack by driving him away, and wondered whether he even deserved to try and call him back. Jack just kept walking down the hallway, his own mind swimming with thoughts of whether he would ever have a family of his own, and if he would ever be valuable enough to be allowed to stay in it.

…..

Baby tooth flew for all she was worth back to Tooth Palace, her miniature wings humming with the urgency she felt as he increased her speed to get back home to Toothiana. Just hours previous she had been going down to check on Bunny and Jack to see how their favorite winter spirit was faring as a Pooka, but she arrived just as Chikashi and Pitch began their assault on the duo. Baby Tooth wanted to help, but she knew that if things went south, she would be a much more valuable asset as a messenger. And so as soon as she saw Chikashi throw a dark spell on the guardians of hope and fun, the small fairy took off for home, her heart beating wildly in fear for the lives of her two friends. With the Tooth Palace in view, Baby Tooth used her last burst of energy propelling herself to Toothiana, and the other guardians in search of their immediate help in rescuing Jack and Aster from the clutches of their enemy.

…

Pitch threw back his head and laughed, watching the image that Chikashi had created showing the current circumstance of their foes. Bunny was curled up in a grieving ball of insecurity and fear that he was nothing more than poison that would destroy any family member he held dear. While Jack was walking aimlessly, his leg useless, and his eyes streaming with tears as he felt the icy cold grip of loneliness and abandonment wrap him in their crushing chains. It was all too wonderful for the Boogeyman, and he could barely restrain the childish whoop of joy that wanted to burst forth from his lungs. Chikashi too was beside himself with joy at their current situation, his dark eyes alight with glee as he gazed into the glowing sphere hovering over his hand.

"Come on Pitch," the trickster cackled "all they need is just one more push, just one more nudge before they are lost for all eternity. Hope is almost completely snuffed out from the rabbit, and I think that Jack is teetering on the edge of giving up entirely."

Pitch cast a slow smile that resembled a cat gazing at a caged canary over to the Native American spirit "True, but let's not rush things, like you said before we want to see them suffer, and I don't think they have gone through nearly enough…not yet at least."

"I'm not against the idea," Chikashi sneered his face stretching with his own feline grin "what do you have in mind?"

Pitch felt a bubble of evil laughter spring from lips as he once again cast his eyes to the sphere showing the two guardians "Let's see…" he purred before all went pitch black.

….

Jack made his way from the hallway into a wide open room, his eyes downcast, and his heart aching from the conversation he had had with Aster. He was so tired of being passed through, of being forgotten, and discarded like yesterdays trash. For three hundred years had been ignored, and now that he had become a guardian, Jack had hoped that things had changed. Heaving a heavy sigh, the former winter spirit felt his shoulders droop even lower as depression weighed him down, unfortunately things had not changed and the boy wished that he never allowed himself to hope.

Limping into the center of the room towards a door that he hoped lead outside, Jack let out a startled yelp when suddenly black bars sprang up around him and entrapped him in a narrow cage. His eyes wide with fear and sudden panic bursting in his chest, causing him to begin battering against the ebony steel, his white paws a flurry of activity as he pounded and rattled against the object of his incarceration. In the midst of his efforts towards escape, a long loud laugh sounded behind him, making the white Pooka whirl around unsteadily on his good leg, wide blue eyes searching for the source of the chilling sound mocking his current situation. Pitch slowly melted from the shadows, his face wreathed in a wide grin as his cold eyes examined his newly caught prey.

"Well, well, well…." He sneered "look what I seem to have caught in my hutch, an oversized bunny, and not just any bunny but the infamous winter spirit known as Jack Frost!"

Legs trembling, and heart beating wildly in fear, Jack feigned a careless attitude by rolling his eyes "Well, well, well," he mocked "If it isn't the washed up cry baby, formerly known as the Boogeyman."

"I would suggest that you hold back on the insults Jackie," Pitch spat his face twisted into a visage of fury "especially considering that I have you in a situation that is less than favorable for your health."

"Oh. My!" Jack sighed dramatically one sarcastic paw resting on his brow as if he were to swoon "I'm being held captive by the guy I beat the snot out of, someone…save me…"

A snarl of rage escaped Pitch's lips before his features smoothed and he leaned back with a somewhat serene smile, an action that made Jack tense his senses spinning with anxiety "Go ahead and put up the brave front Jack," the dark spirit practically purred "because that is all it is, an act, and I'm not falling for it."

"I have no reason to fear you…" the former winter spirit quavered unconvincingly.

"Maybe," The Boogeyman shrugged "but you do have some very real reasons, for some very real fears. Such as…oh what was it? Oh yes, everyone forgetting that you even exist, including the very people who you view as family."

Jack opened his mouth to argue with his nemesis, but his voice failed him as his mind blanked, leaving the white Pooka to stare miserably at the floor nibbling anxiously on his bottom lip. Pitch merely cackled at the win in making Jack Frost speechless.

"See?" he said his hands spreading apart as if he had just solved a great mystery "Even you cannot deny this fear, and it's very real grip on your heart. You fear being forgotten, passed through, by your family…or at least the people you _thought_ were your family…turns out you were wrong, huh?"

Tears stung the azure eyes, and Jack wilted at the words spoken to him through the bars currently holding him captive "…They _are_ my family…" he whimpered weakly.

"Bunny doesn't seem to think so…" Pitch murmured as he picked at his nails casually.

"THAT'S…" Jack bellowed before wilting even further and sliding down the bars to sit on the ground in a small trembling ball his voice reduced to a quivering whisper "…That's not true…"

"Isn't it?" The dark man hissed "He is the one who used you, lied to you, and then wanted to dump you off at the Pole; and when you demanded an answer, he couldn't even tell you the truth of what he really thought."

Jack reached up and gripped his ears, pulling them low so as to block out the sound of Pitch's voice "…Stop…" he whimpered "…It's not true…"

"And North?" Pitch continued his tirade, arms waving dramatically "He didn't even try to help, all he did was dump you off at the Warren with only a note to show he had been there. Some _family_, when you need them most, they are too busy trying to pawn you off on everyone else so that they don't have to be involved with something so obviously not worth their time. Where have Tooth and Sandman been? Have they even visited you? Didn't think so…like I said…You are not viewed as important enough to interrupt their schedule; they don't think you are worth the trouble to go out of their way to help."

Tears streamed down Jack's face as he huddled into himself in a tight ball "Shut up" he sobbed as a heavy weight began to suffocate him and a sharp pain stabbed him in the heart "I don't want to hear."

"Oh no Jack," Pitch smiled maliciously "you _will_ hear, and by the time I'm done talking everything that ever made you a guardian will be broken and shattered, just like your little family."

Peeking up, wide azure eyes watched as Pitch leaned in closer and opened his mouth to continue his horrible speech; but just as he was about to begin, a loud booming voice bellowed down the hall and into the room.

"JACKIE!"

Bunnymund hopped towards the caged Pooka, his heart thudding in his chest as he examined the situation that lay before him. Just ten or so minutes before he had been sitting in the hallway, wondering where he had gone wrong, when suddenly the faint whisper of voices drifted down the corridor and into his ears. Jack's voice…and Pitch. It was in that moment that Aster had decided to set aside the personal feeling ravaging his heart, and run to the winter sprite's side with the intention of helping him. He was glad that he had, because judging by the looks of things, Jack needed all the help he could get.

"Jack, I'm right here mate" the Pooka said in as confident a tone that he could muster "we'll get out of this."

Pitch let out a snort loaded with derision as he casually floated up and lounged across the top of the cage "This coming from the guy who was just trying to get rid of you, how sweet, he's come to rescue you Jack just so that he can throw you away later."

"You shut up!" Bunny snarled as he saw the wince flash across the winter spirit's face at the words spoken by the Boogeyman "That's not the case, and Jackie here knows it."

"Does he?" Pitch asked in monotone "Because it looks like to me that you were awfully anxious to get rid of him not even an hour ago."

"I was not trying ta get rid of him!"

"Then what," the dark spirit asked with a sarcastic roll of his eyes "_were_ you trying to do?"

"…I was…" Aster heaved a sigh as he fought to bring the words from the wounded part of his heart and out into the room that apparently had become the courtroom for his trial "…I was trying ta protect 'im." He finally whispered miserably.

Jack felt his ears prick at the quiet confession, his tear filled eyes watching the now still form of the guardian he had become so close to. Pitch raised a nonexistent eyebrow "Oh?" he asked in a mocking tone "Trying to protect him from what?"

"From…me…"

Jack and the Boogeyman strained to hear the muted voice of the Easter bunny, Pitch giving a small "What did you say?"

"I said I'm trying ta protect 'im from ME!" Bunny repeated his face twisting with grief and pain.

"Interesting concept…" Pitch muttered sarcastically as he rolled his eyes "mind elaborating?"

"I'm just…I'm not…" Aster struggled as he felt his legs beneath to quiver underneath him from the enormous secret he was about to tell his greatest enemy and dearest family member "I'm not good enough…never have been…"

"Why wouldn't you be good enough?" a small voice sniffled from the cage causing Bunny to glance up from where he had been staring miserably at the floor.

Crystal blue eyes bored into his soul, and Aster swallowed a sob as he opened his mouth and began his dreaded and painful confession "I can't protect ya Snowflake" the rabbit spoke in a cracked tearful voice thick with emotion "I can't protect any of the people I love…Sabine…she…I watched her die, and I couldn't even make it in time to save her life. I couldn't save my brothers, or my friends, and then…you come along…and yer like…the kit Sabine and I could never have…After centuries of being completely alone, I finally felt like…like I had a family again…but what if…what if being near me hurts ya? What if in the end I can't protect ya? I'm poison Snowflake…and everything I have ever loved has always disappeared…while I'm left standing. I can't bear it…I can't let you join all the rest because I'm…because I'm not good enough…I'm just…not good enough."

"No," Jack wept one paw reaching towards the bars towards Bunny "you _are_ good enough, _I'm_ the one who isn't…who isn't worth your time… but you're the Easter Bunny, you're strong, and smart, and brave…everything that I want to be…you're…you're my family."

A large ball of emotion stuck in Bunny's throat and tears of gratitude began to stream down his face "Ah Jackie," he sighed "if only that were true."

"It is true!" Jack insisted.

"Naw, it's not," Bunny shook his head "yer the one that taught us what it meant to be guardians again, yer the one who helps us to remember how to have fun, and yer the one that makes our lives meaningful. Yer more valuable than you could ever realize."

"Then get me outta here, and we can go back to the warrens!" Jack finally cried "I'll prove to you how important you are, and I'll show you that you're not poison, even if it means I have to live as a Pooka forever! The world needs the guardian of Hope Bunny, and so do I, we need you."

Suddenly a warm feeling burst inside Aster's chest, one that he hadn't felt for some time, Hope. Jack was right, they just needed to get out of here and go back to the Warren, and then they could start all over again as a proper family, one without secret pains and grieves keeping them from truly being able to help one another. This time they would be father and son, and Bunny was intent on making that happen. Now he just needed to defeat Pitch and break Jack out of his cell, and then they could be on their way.

"A'right Frostbite," Aster said with a slow smile "Ya got yerself a deal!"

A wide grin broke out on Jack's face, and the Pooka grinned in return, but Pitch was staring down at the duo in a mix of anger and disgust. "Alright," he sighed with a sneer "enough of this, Chikashi it's now time for phase 2 of our plan."

"I thought you had forgotten about me." Chikashi whined as he stepped out of the shadows and into the room.

Bunny tensed, his paws coming up to either side of his face as he prepared for battle "Chikashi," the rabbit acknowledged softly "I admit that you got me last time, but I'm ready for ya now."

"Do you now?" Chikashi asked as his lithe form slunk towards the Pooka like a panther cornering its prey "Because I would say that you are not nearly as prepared as you think."

A smile full of evil intent and malice lit up the Native American spirit's face making it resemble a devil that would preside over the dead and the graves "Let me show you."

Holding his arms on either side, Chikashi tilted his head back as his dark eyes became completely black from the pupil all the way across the whites, and his mouth moved as he chanted. A rumbling language echoed around the room, and the floor began to roll and writhe much like water and the very stones shifted as they molded themselves into creatures towering over their creator. Bunny watched, but his curiosity soon turned to horror as he recognized the figures now standing before him. One was a tall Pooka, tribal stripes covering his grayish blue fur, and a long spear in hand. The other was a more delicate looking Pooka, white fur, and lavender stripes rippling across her lithe frame. Sabine, and Aster's father, Orion.

"No…" Aster murmured his wide green eyes gazing at the duo in front of him "It can't be…it surely can't."

"But it is," Pitch cackled "just look at them Bunny…the woman you loved and failed to save, and the father you never managed to defeat, not even once."

"Well if it isn't my whelp of a kit," Orion's deep baritone growled "what have you been doing to cause you to become so weak, you look terrible."

"I…" Aster stammered as color rose to his cheeks.

"Orion," a Chikashi reprimanded sarcastically "be kind to him, he hasn't seen you since you died."

The older rabbit snorted "You mean since he failed to help me when I needed him by my side in battle?"

"I was helping," Bunny replied his voice rough "I was takin' care of the family _you_ left behind to make a name for yerself in the military. I was carin' for my mom, and feedin' my siblings because ya were too busy to take care of us yerself."

"And who taught you to fight?" Orion sneered "Showed you what it meant to be a warrior? Me. So ya better shut yer trap, unless ya think yer strong enough to fight me and prove me wrong."

"No, Bunny," Jack wailed as he shook the bars of his cage "don't do it! They aren't real, you don't have to fight him!"

"My creations are based on his memories," Chikashi snarled gleefully "this image of Orion is just as real and strong as Bunny remembers him to be, and because of that he has no chance of winning."

"Man makes a good point," Orion spat "because you know deep down, ya never beat me before and ya certainly can't now. Yer too weak and overcome by yer own insecurities to even stand a chance."

"I will prove you wrong," Bunny growled as his hackles rose and his fur fluffed in anger "and I _will_ win!"

"Here," Chikashi smiled as he conjured up Aster's boomerangs and threw them to him "you're gonna need all the help you can get."

Bunny caught the wooden weapons in expert paws and deftly spun them as he prepared himself for the battle ahead "You know," the rabbit whispered menacingly "I always did want to have one more go with ya, guess I got my wish."

"Then let's see ya make the most of it!" Orion snapped as he dove towards Bunny.

The two clashed, Bunny barely holding the gleaming spearhead mere inches from his face with his boomerang, and Orion putting all his strength into bringing the shaft of his weapon down onto his opponent. With a snarl, Bunny used the force being pushed on the spear, letting go of the weapon, and ducking underneath the bulk of his father's image. The Pooka fell forward as his brace disappeared, and then grunted as Bunny did a low sweep with one of his long legs, effectively tripping the clone. But he was not caught off guard for the older Pooka ducked his head and tumbled forward, landing back on his feet, and springing up into a high kick. Aster blocked the kick with his left forearm, grabbing the leg in the same motion, and pulling the creation close for a brutal elbow jab to the jaw.

Orion recovered after the hit, and responded by bringing a roundhouse punch across Bunny's jaw, and as the younger rabbit was doubled over, slamming his knee into Aster's face. The rabbit flew across the floor, finally landing with a sickening thud and skidding to a stop on the stone. Blood streamed from his nose, while even more oozed from the various cuts across his shoulders and back caused from scraping against the uneven floor, and Bunny slowly stood again on shaky legs his keen green eyes never leaving his opponent. Orion laughed, his stony gaze watching as Bunny stumbled forward before once again gaining his footing.

"Pardon me, but I'm confused," Orion smirked "but is this what winning is supposed to look like?"

"Shut yer trap old man," Bunny growled "I'm just getting started."

"Please," the older Pooka scoffed "you're already bleeding, and I'm barely winded. Give it up boy, you have no chance of defeating me, not now not ever."

"That's what you think…"

Once again the two met on the field of battle, while Jack and his captors watched in slack jawed awe at the sheer genius and ability being displayed. Time and time again, one would land a devastating blow, sending the other flying, but every time the other would rise and the battle would continue. The former winter spirit cheered, and sobbed, his gaze never leaving the battle raging before him. Shaking the bars, he screamed in frustration as Orion picked Bunny up by the eras from where he had landed on the ground, and slamming his face into the floor, causing all the viewers to wince at the crack that resounded from wall to wall.

Jack watched his eyes wide as Aster's form became very still and did not rise "Bunny," Jack called through a broken sob "Bunny, get up…"

No response from the fallen Pooka and the winter spirit gasped when he saw a pool of blood begin forming beneath the motionless head "Bunny!" Jack yelled more forcefully "Come on Kangaroo, you need to get up!"

Still nothing and Jack felt his chest heave as he began to hyperventilate "BUNNY!" he screamed "BUUUNNYYY!"

Orion stood over Aster, his face split in a victorious grin "What'sa matter boyo?" he cackled maniacally "I thought you were going to prove me wrong, and win?"

"Poor Aster," Pitch sighed "once again you fail those you love."

"No, he isn't done," Jack shrieked his wide panic filled eyes casting around pleading with anyone who would listen and believe him "Just wait, he'll get back up!"

Suddenly the door burst open, and the other guardians strode through, Baby Tooth leading the charge her mouth open as she cast several angry chirps reprimanding Pitch and Chikashi for their terrible treatment of her favorite guardian. Jack felt several relieved tears spring from his eyes as he melted into a short round of uncontrollable weeping. Casting his gaze over to the rest of his family, the former winter spirit shouted his plea through broken sobs.

"Please," he gasped "help Bunny!"

"Jack!" North called his blue eyes turning icy as he surveyed the carnage before him "Pitch," he growled "I hope you understand just what you have done, for I intend on making sure you endure full repercussions of your actions."

"No!" Tooth gasped as her eyes finally landed on Aster "Bunny…Pitch you wretch! You have exactly five seconds to release Jack before I show you just what the Tooth Fairy is capable of!"

Sandy backed her up, dream sand giving an eloquent show of just what he planned to do, his hand a fist smacking into the palm of his other hand. All three looked fit to kill, but Jack was too busy watching the still form of the guardian of Hope. Orion smirked at the Guardians, one paw reaching down as he once again gripped Bunny's long ears, and pulled the unconscious off the floor and shaking it towards the new arrivals.

"What," he laughed "you came to rescue this useless bag of fur?"

"PUT HIM DOWN!" Jack screamed his eyes narrow with intense fury.

"A'right," Orion shrugged as he let go and Bunny once again crashed painfully to the floor "I let him go, and he can stay there for all I care."

Whirling around, the older Pooka reared his hind leg back and kicked Bunny hard in the abdomen, sending the still form flying across stone, landing like a forgotten ragdoll. Orion cast a grin accompanied by green eyes glinting with evil at Jack, his mouth upturned in a merciless smile. "Honestly, I don't even know why ya care."

Walking over, the creation once again delivered another devastating blow to Bunny's unconscious frame, this time the younger rabbit flew until his back crashed into the opposite wall. Jack screamed in horror, a sob lodged in his throat as he pounded at the bars. Limping across the floor of his cage, the boy ran in an unsteady gait, charging the bars and trying to force them to break. He gripped the bars in his paws, and shook them fiercely, one paw reaching through them towards his fallen friend.

"Stop IT!" he shrieked "Stop hurting him!"

"I can hurt him if I want!" Orion spat as he straddled the unconscious rabbit and started delivering countless punches to his still form.

North and the other two guardians charged with a roar of fury, but Pitch merely snapped his fingers, creating several dozen Nightmares surrounding them; leaving Bunny helpless to Orion's wrath. Jack watched through horrified azure eyes, his mouth agape from the screamed pleading begging Orion to show mercy and stop the relentless beating. Turning to his left, the younger Pooka addressed the still silent and frozen image of Sabine, her eyes watching the carnage emotionlessly.

"S-Sabine," he gasped "I know you're just a creation that Chikashi made, but you're based on Bunny's memories too. You loved him, once, don't tell me that you can just stand there and do nothing!"

"Stop trying to do the impossible," Chikashi sneered "she is just a shadow of the original, she has no feelings or the ability to move because I did not give it to her. She is just a cold statue meant to make Bunny remember all that he failed to do."

But Jack knew better, once again he turned to the motionless figure "Sabine, you loved Bunny, and he still loves you. He said that I'm like the kit you guys never had, please for me and for him, DO SOMETHING!"

Sabine never twitched, and for a moment Jack allowed despair to wash over him, but then suddenly a small tear formed in Sabine's right eye and trickled down her cheek. The former winter spirit straightened up "That's right," he urged "love is stronger than anything else, you don't have to be Chikashi's slave, you can break free and help Bunny!"

Sabine's limbs began to tremble as life sparked and grew in Sabine's eyes making the dull purple shine with luminescence. "B-Bunny," she said slowly as she came to life "My …love."

"What?!" Chikashi stared agape at his creation.

Slowly, the clone of Sabine turned her head and stared at the young white Pooka in the cage "Why?" she said softly "Why do you care…so much?"

"B-because," Jack wept as he watched the miracle unfold before his eyes "he's important to me, he's my family!"

"Important…" the creation whispered "…Family…"

"Shut up!" Chikashi screeched "Just shut up and stop messing with my creation!"

"No!" Jack retorted "I won't stop, we're going to win, and Bunny is going to get back up!"

"Oh for heaven's sake," Chikashi sighed his face a sneer of distaste "why do you insist on making such a fuss over someone who has only ever shown you constant disregard and cruelty? He has only shown you kindness recently, how does that make up for the three centuries of silence? What is he to you?"

Jack bared his teeth at the Native American Trickster spirit "He isn't perfect, but neither am I! Bunny could have let me be taken care of by North, and he could have abandoned me when I needed help, but he didn't. He is my friend, my family, but he became something more to me…something I haven't had for a long time…!"

The Guardians, Pitch, and Chikashi felt their gazes be drawn to Jack as he drew in a breath into his lungs and bellowed out his declaration "Bunny…he's my DAD!"

Suddenly Aster's green eyes, once closed, flew open and he brought his fist up to catch the flying fist of the clone of Orion. Pulling the fist to continue the movement, but directing the aim, he flipped the older rabbit off of him and once again rose on unsteady legs. Gasps of pain grunted through the Pooka's lips as he straightened, but soon even those were silent, and Aster once again made his stand with the straight back of a proud warrior. Tooth's hands flew to her mouth as her eyes filled with tears, and North let loose a long loud laugh of triumph while sandy punched the air while making small fireworks explode over his head. The Pooka slowly gave a small pained grin towards his friends and Jack.

"Sorry Snowflake," the rabbit laughed softly before giving a tiny wince at the action "just needed ta take a small nap."

"Yeah," Jack smiled through his tears "right, whatever you say kangaroo."

"Don't worry," the Pooka said returning his intense green gaze back to the clone of his father "I still intend to win, just watch me Joey."

North felt an eyebrow raise as he cast a confused glance at Toothiana "Who is Joey?" he wondered aloud.

"Get him Bunny!" Jack cheered.

Falling to all fours, the rabbit sprinted towards the creation with a roar of challenge, stopping only to spring through the air and tackle the older Pooka. Both tumbled across the floor, Bunny grunting in pain each time he hit the hard stone. Finally they came to a stop, and Bunny sat astride Orion, his face wreathed with a wicked grin.

"My turn!"

Thus the rabbit began to rain blow after blow on the creation, his face set with a look of determination "I'm gonna win," he panted "and then Jackie and I…are going…HOME!"

With that last word, Bunny punched through the face of the clone, causing it to crumble into dust. Jack leapt into the air with his good leg, a whoop of joy exploding from his lungs, and punched the air with a joyous paw. Pitch snarled, and Chikashi screamed in outraged disgust. Looking up, the former winter spirit used his good leg to jump to the top of his cage and hold onto the bars. Reaching through, Jack gripped Pitch's cloak, and pulled the Boogeyman's face close.

"Let. Me. Out!" Frost hissed.

Pitch allowed the briefest flash of fear to pass over his face before snapping his fingers and both he and the cage melted away. Jack did not waste any time running to Bunny's side, the younger Pooka grabbing Aster's arm and wrapping it around his shoulder so that the wobbling rabbit wouldn't collapse. Bunny looked down at Jack, and then let out a loud guffaw.

"Snowflake," he chuckled as his eyes became unfocused due to pain and fatigue "I think that with yer broken leg, ya shouldn't be the one trying ta carry me…We'll both end up gettin' hurt doing that."

Jack laughed "Maybe, but let me support you anyways, I want to."

Bunny smiled tenderly at the younger Pooka before his tired eyes suddenly brightened with a revelation "Oi," he practically whispered "look at that, ya got yer stripes Jackie."

Jack's eyes widened before he looked down and gave a small gasp. Bluish grey stripes covered his white fur, one large pattern looking much like a rose but with snowflake edges going across his back. On his forehead between his ears was a vertical line with a V shaped dip in the middle of it and a diamond in the space created by the V, looking much like a makeshift crown. Bunny let out a small laugh, and ruffled the fur between Jack's ears.

"The pattern suits ya," he said gently "you have the compassion and sweetness that I remember Sabine for, but yer a warrior…like yer old man."

"Yeah," Jack smiled brightly his chest nearly bursting with pride "I guess I do take after my dad."

Chikashi stood in the middle of the room, fuming over his most recent defeat, and turned to Sabine. With an irritated flick, he attempted to snap her into oblivion, but the creation would not disappear. "why won't you disappear?!" he screeched.

"Because," North said in his rumbling Russian accent "she no longer belongs to you. The soul of Sabine has returned to make home in this shell, and the power of true love has breathed new life into her. She is no longer stone molded to look like Sabine, but she has become Sabine in flesh and blood."

Chikashi cast disbelieving eyes between North and Sabine, until finally with one last scream of outrage, he too disappeared, leaving the Guardians to stand by themselves in the large room. Jack slowly led Bunny over to the still form of Sabine, the Pooka's eye alight with wonder and fear.

"S-Sabine…?" he quavered "Is that really you?"

Sabine merely cocked her head "Important…Family…Bunny…Love?"

Aster felt his lip quiver as his heart once again cracked in two "This ain't her," he said in a choked sob "she's long gone, this is just a shadow of the woman I loved."

Suddenly Moonlight broke through a window, and enveloped the female Pooka causing her fur to shimmer and shift. All watched with mouths agape, until the light diminished, leaving Sabine to stand by herself a blank look on her face. Then, she moved, shaking her head as if shaking herself free from a bad memory or dream. Looking up, purple eyes latched on Aster, and a trembling voice spoke from the delicate throat.

"Aster?" she said slowly "What is going on? I don't remember how I came here."

Bunny jaw fell in shock and with slow movements, pushed himself away from Jack, and limped toward the female rabbit "Sabine," he spoke dazedly one paw caressing her face tenderly "My Sabine…"

"Yes," Sabine laughed with a nervous smile "and you're my Aster, why are you acting so strange?"

Without a second thought, the rabbit lunged forward, and wrapped the female in a tight embrace, tears streaming freely down his face. After a few moments of holding his lost love, the Pooka leaned back, cupping her face with his paws and placed a tender kiss on her lips. Sabine closed her eyes in rapture as she returned the kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck, her ears drooping to the back of her head. Jack blushed, and looked to the side, while Tooth and North and Sandy exchanged nervous laughs, each waiting till the two were done with their reunion. Bunny finally broke the kiss, touching his forehead to hers, and let out a small laugh.

"I'm so glad to have ya back," he smiled through his tears "I missed ya something Sheila."

Sabine laughed deep in her throat "Even though I don't quite remember how I got here, I know that as long as you're here, I'll be happy."

"Good," Bunny sighed nuzzling her gently "because I would have a serious problem if ya planned leaving."

Both enjoyed a laugh before rejoining the Guardians. Introductions were made, and then all left to head back to the Pole for explanations and medical treatment.

…

"Jackie!"

Jack turned towards the voice of Sabine, his staff in hand, and began to run down towards the picnic they had planned in the Warren. It had been three months since she had come to live with Bunny, Jack had only recently gotten his human form back, and the two Pooka were still acting like newlyweds giggling and sharing secret kisses behind trees. The three had become a family, and Sabine had fit in to their odd little team quite neatly. Tooth was ecstatic just to have another female in their group, and the two became close friends within hours. North often found himself smiling whimsically at the drastic change that had taken place in the guardian of Hope. The once gruff and grumpy bunny had been replaced by a bright and smiling rabbit who was more often than not found sitting on the shore of one of his many lakes, Sabine at his side, talking and dreaming about the future, his eyes alight with bright Hope.

Sabine had announced that they were going to have a picnic as a family in order for her to make a special announcement. Jack didn't know what it was, but he had a sneaking suspicion that they might be expecting new arrivals in the coming year. Looking down into the water of one of the normal rivers running through the Warren, Jack ran a hand through his white hair now permanently stained with the stripes he had acquired during his time as a Pooka. No one really knew why he still had the stripes after being returned to his true form, but Jack had a feeling it was MiM's way of making sure he remembered the lessons he learned during that time.

"Jack, where are ya mate?" this time it was Aster calling him.

"I'm coming!"

Turning, the boy flew up into the air, and burst through the trees towards the party site. Things changed, that was for sure, but Jack wouldn't want them any other way.

**How was that chapter?**

**I had no intention at first of ending this as a BunnyxOC, but it just felt so RIGHT! Hoped you guys enjoyed this arc, and the next arc will be Bunny as a human which will be a completely different universe. This one includes Sabine, but the arc where Bunny turns human, Jack will not have ever been a Pooka, it will be COMPLETELY DIFFERENT…so everyone please understand that before anyone asks why I'm not talking about Jack being a Pooka in that arc.**

**The winner of the 100****th**** reviewer challenge was Elysenjazz, Congrats, you get to request the next one shot I write.**

**Remember to REVIEW guys!**


	30. Morning Bliss

**Ok…This one actually hit me on the head…with a bat….repeatedly….and refused to stop until it got written down. *sigh* Why are all my writing prompts so violent? It must be because of the reviewers…every time a good idea crosses my brain the writing prompts go "HEY! THEY WILL LOOOOOVE ME!" and thus begins a never ending cycle of abuse with all my story ideas standing over my shoulder, ordering me what to write, while I sit chained to my laptop, typing away all the while gently sobbing over their cruelty…**

**ENJOY!**

Bunny slowly opened his eyes, and gave a long stretch, relishing the feeling of waking up in his warren with the soft body of his wife snuggled against him. A soft smile on his face, the Pooka dipped his head down and snuffled his mate's temple, giving her a tender lick. Sabine smiled in her sleep, a soft sigh of contentment ringing in the base of her throat, and then scooted closer to the male she had sworn the rest of her life and all her heart to. Aster wrapped his arms around her, drawing her close, and drawing deep breaths of her scent. Reaching down, he placed one paw flat against her swollen stomach, smiling as he felt baby paws kick against the pads of his fingers. Softly stroking the fur of his mate's abdomen, he tried to count how many paws he felt, so far he was only sure of at least two. Three was the most a Pooka would normally have, and Aster personally hoped for it, he wanted as many kits as possible with Sabine.

After she was returned to him, Bunny had done everything in his power to make the Warren not just a place to prepare for Easter, but a home for his mate. He redecorated his house, adding on rooms for Sabine's use, and even made his bedroom and the bed larger so to accommodate for the extra person. The female Pooka had taken to her new surroundings immediately, and even though it took some time, she eventually came to terms with the fact that she had died. That alone was a difficult talk, as Bunny quickly found out, and both of them shed many tears before it had been successfully closed. It took a few weeks, but eventually Sabine came out of mourning and returned to Aster's side, proclaiming that no matter what she would stay with him and they would raise their family together.

After that was when they discovered that Sabine was pregnant.

Cuddling closer to the female Pooka, Aster smiled, and closed his eyes as he drifted off to sleep once again. But the movement of his wife brought his eyes back open, and the rabbit smiled down at his mate.

"Mornin'…" his baritone rumbled.

"Good morning," Sabine giggled "and how are you doing today?"

"I don't know," Aster chuckled "how are _we_ doing?"

"Hmm," Sabine hummed as she placed a paw against her stomach "well one of our kits is taking after his daddy, and is kicking me black and blue. I have no doubt he will be a warrior just like you. The other is tumbling like a gymnast, I think they are going to be hyperactive little things, we better be ready when they get here."

"All this right now?" Aster asked incredulously.

"Yep"

"Oi," Aster mock corrected as he sat up and leaned down so to nudge Sabine's stomach with his nose "stop beatin' up yer mom, or I'm gonna have ta give ya a time out!"

Sabine melted into a round of giggles as Aster continued to correct their kits and threaten time out "You know," she laughed "if you give them time out, that means that you're giving me time out."

"Oh really," Aster asked his ears pricking up in interest "meaning that you can't leave the room…at all."

"Uh huh," Sabine said with a sly grin "I'm stuck here until you say otherwise."

"Is that right?" Bunny said casually scratching under his chin as he gave the idea thought "well then… How about we skip breakfast, and just stay in for the day?"

Drawing Bunny close, the female Pooka nuzzled his cheek and then kissed him while whispering in his ear "I can live with that."

"Come 'ere you," Aster grinned wickedly causing Sabine to once again laugh.

"HEY BUNNY!" a voice suddenly screamed outside "SABINE, YOU GUYS AWAKE YET?!"

"Oh no…" Bunny groaned "Why now…of all times…why does Frostbite have ta visit now?"

The female Pooka snorted as her body shook overcome by giggles "Aster," she gasped breathlessly "he only visits because he cares."

"If he cared so much, then he wouldn't visit without callin' first." Bunny grumped.

Sabine gave him a playful slap on a muscular bicep "Just get up, you know how worried he gets over how the kits are doing, and if we ignore him we'll just hurt his feelings."

"A'right," Bunny groaned lifting himself off the bed and then leaning down to help his wife sit up and stand to her feet. But before they left the house to greet their guest, Bunny whirled his wife into his arms, and nuzzled her neck "but do not," he murmured softly "think that we're done."

Caressing his cheek, Sabine gave her husband a kiss on the lips, and then winked "Of course not."

Walking out onto the lawn, Bunny waved Jack down, the winter spirit landing in front of them with a broad grin on his face "What's up?" The winter spirit asked.

"Not much," Aster growled.

"Aw, why so grumpy Kangaroo," Jack laughed "I only wanted to see how the babies are doing!"

"They're doin' fine," Aster said quickly as he grabbed the winter child by the shoulders and proceeded to walk him towards the exit of the warren "now I think ya have some stuff ta do other than hang around here, so ya might as well take off."

"Nope!" Jack chirped as he ducked below Aster's arms and quickly ran over to throw his around Sabine.

"Hi!"

"Hi," the female Pooka laughed with a fond smile lighting her face as she ruffled Jack's hair "and how is my favorite snowflake?"

"Good," Jack grinned up at her "just wanted to see how my baby brother and sister are doing."

"And how do ya know it's gonna be a boy and a girl?" Aster asked with an amused smirk.

Jack stepped back from Sabine, exchanging a secret smile with the white rabbit, and then cast a mischievous grin back at Aster "People who are in touch with their softer side know these things Bunny, you would too if you weren't so grumpy all the time."

Bunny felt his jaw drop "Oi, I'm not grumpy ya git, and I'm in touch with my softer side!"

"Hmmm," Jack pursed his lips in disbelieving silence before crouching down to speak to Sabine's stomach, one pale hand resting on the fur of her abdomen "he likes to think so, but we know better, right guys?"

Jack felt a firm kick land on his thumb and the winter child burst into loud giggles "See, they agree with me, you're a grumpy bunny!"

"That's it Frost," Aster growled as he popped his knuckles "come 'ere!"

Sticking his tongue out, Jack let out a giggle and flew off, with an angry Pooka chasing him down. Sabine sighed with content happiness, watching the two play, and went back inside to start breakfast. Knowing her boys, they would come back in after calling a truce, and would be starving. Giving a small giggle, Sabine felt a burst of excitement bubble up within her chest as she stroked the outline of the kits currently growing within her. Soon they would be one big family, Aster would make a wonderful father, and Jack is already showing how much he wanted to be a big brother. All in all, it sounded perfect, and Sabine couldn't wait for the young ones to arrive.

**I'm so sorry Elysenjazz, I AM working on your request, and I'm almost done with it, but this idea hit me so hard, and everyone was begging for a one shot with Sabine and Bunny after Jack got turned back into his original form.**

As always, please REVIEW….the next chapter will be Elysenjazz's request and should you guys post enough reviews, I will also be congratulating the next winner of the Review Games!

**Now get busy and start typing! **


	31. Appendicitis and Sandy

**Disclaimer: I do not own ROTG, and I probably won't until I buy the DVD **

**HI! Ok, I am working on Human Bunny even as I write this believe it or not. So if anyone has any ideas or requests for how they would like to see the brotherly love arc for Jack and Bunnymund play out, feel free to PM me or leave those ideas in a review. I like ideas, opinions, and reviews; they are what keep me writing.**

**Ok, so this is the request from Elysenjazz, which is Jack and Sandy hanging out, but try as hard as I might, it was really hard for me to make a chapter about them hanging out without some sort of sub-plot. So this chapter is simply about…Appendicitis and Sandy….with some North as well...**

The air was crisp as Sandy flew through the city of Burgess, and the small man gave a happy smile as he noticed that the city was spotted with the believers of Jack Frost. How did he know which were which? Well the tell tale sign of them leaving their windows part of the way open in the middle of January was certainly a giveaway. Each child wanted to make Jack feel welcome whenever he felt like crashing in an actual house for a night or so, and so the children of the city had developed a series of secret codes for the winter spirit. A partially open window meant, 'feel free to come inside and stay the night', a flashlight shining out the window meant 'PITCH!', but the best sign for the spirit was that the kids had actually made little flags and painted a snowflake on them.

All believers had made a flag and hung it somewhere in their backyard or out their window as symbol of their belief. Looking down onto the city, Sandman felt proud elation swell his chest as he counted at least twenty flags. The adults thought that kids had made up some kind of club, and thought nothing of it. Sure, they would all ask each other, who was this Jack person the kids never stopped talking about? But in the end, they all just shrugged it off due to the fact that whoever this person was, he was encouraging their kids to play outside and not sit around watching TV which was always a plus, so the parents couldn't complain about the children of the city's newest obsession.

A soft smile accompanying his golden glow, the little man decided that he should visit Jack, and congratulate him on his success in finding even more believers. So, raising himself up above the cityscape, Sandy turned towards Jack Frost's lake.

Jack lay on his side, his once bright crystal blue eyes now dull with fever as he watched through blurred vision the water of the lake lap at the shore. It had begun to thaw just a day or so before, honestly Jack couldn't remember, and as it did the winter spirit realized that he didn't feel that well. It began as just a pain behind his belly button, but soon he found he wasn't able to move, much less walk from the stabbing pain in his right side. Soon that was accompanied by puking his guts out every five or so minutes, which only made him feel ever more weak and shaky. To make matters worse, he had a fever…oh joy.

A wave of nausea knocked his vision into a spinning, whirling mess, and Jack closed his eyes as he breathed in deeply through his nose in an attempt to combat the urge to yet again paint the snow green. But the pain in his right side only continued its torture as it stabbed him, making him choke on his own air, and convulse as his body tried to remember how to breathe. His shoulders shook, and his ribs rattled from the tremors afflicting his body as he tried to drag oxygen into his body in shuddering wheezing gasps, and soon the boy could only lay there and weakly shiver as pain and nausea roiled within. This was how Sandy found him.

Sandman was already shocked at the thawed state of Jack's pond, but no words or pictures could accurately describe the fear and worry that clenched his chest when he saw the winter spirit laying on the ground looking all the world like a pale rag doll thrown on the ground and forgotten. Even from his spot up in the sky, the golden man could make out how badly Jack's body was shaking as he coughed and gagged. Without a second thought, Sandy flew down as fast as he could to land at the ill winter sprite's side. Needless to say it did not take long for the golden man to deduce that Jack was in no shape to remain by himself next to the lake. Jack had tried to protest against Sandy caring for him, but a firm shake of the sandman's head accompanied by a healthy dose of dream sand quickly stifled those complaints.

With a fond yet worried shake of his head, the Sandman created a large pillow of dream sand, and using it to carry the boy to the North Pole and hopefully to medical help.

The entire journey there made Sandy nervous, his head constantly turning to look behind him, and check on the ailing winter spirit. Pitiful moans mixed with pained whimpers filled the night air, making the golden man urge himself to go even faster towards the infirmary at the workshop, his face clenched in a tight grimace of worry. The wind whistled past his ears as he tried to streamline his stocky form into a rocket, his hand clenching the dream sand rope attached to the cloud Jack was currently lounging on. Technically Sandman was able to make it to the North Pole in less than two hours, a miracle in itself, but to the keeper of dreams it felt like an eternity. It was in this urgent and worried fashion that he arrived at Santoff Clausen, winter sprite in tow, and immediately sought out North.

The big man in question was currently busy scratching out blueprints for a young child in Switzerland when Sandy came in, a dream sand flag waving urgently over his head. North looked up over his reading glasses, brow furrowing in confusion as he took in Sandy's looks of fear and concern. Taking off the glasses and putting down the pencil that he had been using to sketch with, Nicholas St. North rose up from his seat and approached the usually calm and happy Guardian of Dreams.

"Sandy," his Russian accent rumbled "is something wrong?"

Sandy nodded as his dream sand whirled to form a large **'YES!'**

"What happened old friend?" North asked his voice low with concern.

Sandy began making pictures of Jack flying, then falling down and clutching his stomach shaking hard, and lastly a picture of a band aid.

North let out a sigh, and then once again turned blue eyes now dark with worry at his friend "Let me see him, and I will do what I can."

Sandy cast a grateful smile at North and eventually followed the large man out of the door and towards the infirmary where he had left Jack.

North expected things to be bad, judging from how worried Sandy looked and the mere fact that Jack even let the guardian of dreams bring him here for help, but he wasn't quite prepared for what he found. Jack lay on the bed, his body shaking with shivers running up and down his spine, and his white hair was plastered to his forehead or sticking up in awkward spikes from the sweat rolling off his face. Pitiful little whimpers rode on each breath as the winter child curled into himself, his shoulders shaking from the force of the tremors rattling his thin frame, and the usually pale face was now a flushed pink from the fever ravaging the poor child.

"Oh Jack," North sighed as he knelt down to ruffle the damp sweaty head.

Sandy gave a silent sigh of his own, glowing golden eyes downcast as he looked on the tortured form of their youngest member. Once again standing to his feet, Santa began a perfunctory examination, his keen eyes taking in every detail as he poked and prodded. Jack would occasionally moan with each time he was jostled so that North could check another spot, but it wasn't until the man checked his abdomen that the problem became clear. North had noticed that Jack's arms were firmly wrapped around his stomach, and his face was in a sharp grimace of pain. With gentle hands, the keeper of Wonder detached the trembling arms and gently pressed down on the right side of Jack's stomach. The winter teen jolted awake with a yelp, his blue eyes wide with shock and pain.

"H-hurts!" he whimpered through chattering teeth.

"It hurts on right side?" North looked down at the boy with concerned eyes "Tell me Jack, have you been throwing up?"

The boy gave a weak nod while the large man placed a gentle hand on Jack's forehead, his usually jolly features scrunching into a grimace of worry as he felt the fever burn against his skin. Once again turning to the trembling winter spirit, the man heaved a long sigh.

"Jack," North said softly but with a stern no nonsense look "how long have you been feeling this way?"

Jack looked away from the concerned faces of Wonder and Dreams, his flushed face becoming even more pronounced as he blushed in discomfort and embarrassment "…few days…" he muttered quietly.

"A few DAYS?!" North bellowed in surprise but quickly quieted down when Jack winced at the yell "Jack, I think you may have appendicitis, had Sandy not have found you it could have been fatal."

"Not true," Jack whispered with a snarky tone to his voice "immortals can't die."

"No Jack," North replied firmly "immortals do not die of _old age,_ but we can die should we get sick or gravely injured. We may be immortal, but that does not excuse for not taking care of yourself."

Jack bit the bottom of his lip as his blue eyes fell to the floor in ashamed silence "…Sorry…" the winter murmured softly.

North sighed then ruffled the white head currently lying on the pillow "Do not worry Jack, though I am disappointed that you did not come to me for help, I am relieved that it is not too late to do the surgery needed to make you well again."

"Surgery?" Jack bolted upright, wincing at the pain in his stomach before once again turning fearful eyes onto the guardian of Wonder "What do you mean surgery?"

"Jack, do you not know what Appendicitis is?" the large man asked hesitantly.

"Uh…" the blue eyes once again fell as the boy looked down in embarrassment "Not really, I mean I never hung around hospitals much, and I was never around children who had it. So when it comes to medical stuff, the most I know is just the basics, like setting broken bones and getting over a cold…but anything beyond that…" a pale hand waved in the air as if he were struggling to catch any other information other than his current knowledge "Beyond that, I'm pretty much clueless."

Sandy shook his head, shrugging helplessly at his old friend when Santa shot a look at him in silent helplessness. Dragging a weary hand down his face, the man looked once again at the child who was still staring at the floor in an embarrassed silence, and proceeded to explain what Appendicitis was.

"Appendicitis is when an organ in your body, your Appendix, becomes infected and starts to swell up, like balloon," North explained his hands reaching in front of him as if they were holding an invisible balloon that was slowly inflating "then when it can no longer stretch…BOOM! It bursts, and spreads infection to entire body, which can cause death if not taken care of immediately."

Blue eyes widened with fear at the enactment of his Appendix exploding and Jack gave a heavy swallow "…Oh…" he squeaked "Is that all?"

"Yes," North nodded firmly "but is ok, I will do surgery myself and take out Appendix so that it does not explode all over your insides."

"Sounds good," Jack groaned as he flopped his head into the pillow and burrowed deeply into it.

North got up and left, leaving Sandy alone with the forlorn and pained winter spirit. The keeper of dreams drifted over, and patted his shoulder consolingly waiting for Jack to peek up from the pillow before giving the boy a picture of a miniature Jack flying around and happy. Jack smiled up at his friend, giving a weak thumb up at the golden man.

"Don't worry Sandy," the winter spirit said quietly "I'll be fine. I can't say that I'm happy over the fact that I have to have surgery, but I'm sure that I'll be up and around in no time."

Sandy gave a smile and gave Jack's shoulder a reassuring squeeze just as North came in, at the large man's word, the keeper of Dreams sprinkled dream sand over the sprite using all of his gifts to ensure Jack fell into a deep sleep full of sweet dreams.

…

Jack slowly woke up, his blue eyes fluttering open to gaze on the inside of what he assumed was his bedroom. The only reason why he was unsure was due to the fact that his mind felt foggy, and his limbs were heavy, undoubtedly from some kind of medication given to him by North to ensure that he did not feel any pain. Blinking rapidly, the boy lifted his woozy head from the pillow, and struggled to lift himself off the bed and prop himself onto his elbows. Unfortunately that resulted in the room spinning, his abdomen aching, and him falling back onto the bed in a weak trembling heap. Flopping his arms over his throbbing head, the boy let out a groan, and weakly kicked his legs underneath the blankets in a small temper tantrum at being so helpless and unable to do anything.

Suddenly a knock came from the door, and the boy peeked out from under his arm to see Sandy floating into the room, carrying a tray laden with two overflowing ice cream sundaes.

"Sandy," Jack said with a huge grin as he removed his arms from his face and rolled over so that he could look at the guardian more directly "you rock!"

Sandy gave a silent chuckle, nodding his head in understanding at Jack's need for something cold and sweet. Using his dream sand, the dream master propped the winter sprite up on his pillows in a sitting position, and then he reached down and pulled the blankets back up. Giving the winter child his sundae, the golden man created a glittering bean bag chair and sat at the bedside of the boy, his own face lit up with glee over his own icy treat. With much slurping, and licking, the duo tucked in, Sandy giving silent gasps as he clutched his head due to brain freeze, causing Jack to let out a guffaw of laughter and immediately wince as he felt the action pull at his stitches. Sandy gave the winter child a look of concern and made to pull down the blankets to check on his injury, but Jack stopped him with a wave, and a smile.

"It's ok Sandy," he assured "I'm fine, just happy that I don't suffer from brain freeze."

Sandy made a picture of Bunny, and then winked.

Jack giggled "True, Bunny would probably disagree."

Sandy chuckled and then scooped up some more ice cream, but just as Jack was digging back into his, the golden man bent his spoon backwards and flung the glob of frozen dairy across the space between them, punching the air when it hit him square in the nose. Jack felt an undignified yelp burst from his lips when the unexpected wet object hit his face, crossing his eyes to look down at the blob of chocolate, he then sent a playful glare across the bed to his friend. Leaning over, the winter child grabbed some tissues and wiped his face, tossing his head as he gave a regal sniff, and continued eating his sundae.

"I'm not rising to your bait," the sprite said in as dignified a manner that he could muster "this ice cream is too good to waste on a food fight."

But Jack's mature stance against a food fight using ice cream was thwarted when yet another glob of sundae hit his eye. A soft growl of irritation sounded from the pale boy's throat, and as he grabbed more tissues to clean his face, Jack sent a wicked smile across the blankets towards Sandy.

"A'right," he growled in his best imitation of Bunny "this means war, mate."

Plunking his Sundae onto the nightstand, Jack lifted both hands into the air with a war cry, snowballs forming in his palms. Throwing them directly at Sandy, the golden man deflected them with an umbrella, before created a tiny sand cannon with which he scooped bits of ice cream into and shot them across the room towards the bedridden teen. Jack caught them, re freezing them so that they would splatter all over, and then grinned evilly at his friend.

"I'm a winter spirit Sandy," he cackled gleefully "you can't fight ice, with ICE cream!"

Using his powers, Jack brought to life a small plane, which he loaded the stolen ice cream into, and watched clapping his hands in delight as the airplane did loop de loops while shooting ice cream bullets, and dropping ice cream bombs. Sandy, now dressed in military garb complete with battle helmet, commanded a small battalion of miniature soldiers as they marched across the blankets of the bed, each one carrying a spoon laden with the frozen substance. As the plane dived low, Sandy gave a tearful farewell to a portion of his army as they fell from the bullets and bombs being dropped from the ice plane. A few managed to a get a shot off, one soldier assisting another by allowing the miniature GI Joe to kneel down with the spoon over his shoulder, and the second hopping up in order to bend the spoon back and let it loose. Jack lifted his hands, blocking the blobs of frozen dairy flying at him from the army on his sheets, and a loud giggle shrieked from his lips.

"That's it!" he yelled in unsuppressed glee "No more Mr. Nice Guy!"

Putting his hands together, Jack gently blew, and watched as the ice crept from fingertip to fingertip, until it formed a tank. Quickly creating three more, Jack pointed across the bedspread, and his tanks went forth. The golden GI Joes screamed silently, and ran the other direction, arms waving wildly as they made their retreat. Sandy gave a playful glare at Jack, and fumed with golden sand streaming from his ears, before he to upped the ante. Waving his hands, the man created a small tyrannosaurus-rex, accompanied by Godzilla, which both promptly attacked the tanks. Both grabbing the tank cannons in their jaws and breaking them into pieces. Jack's hands flew up to his hair as he gazed in horror.

"No," he exclaimed "my tanks!"

With a pout of determination, the winter child once again breathed into his hands, but this time he created a robot that looked like something out of a Gundam anime. The robot brandished its oversized sword, and slashed the t-rex into halves, before turning to Godzilla. Leaping forward, the mecha swung its blade in a downward arc, only to have it be caught between the teeth of the legendary monster. Godzilla gave a silent growl before snapping the blade in half, but the robot merely jumped backwards, and opened up various secret doors that revealed missile launchers. Missiles shot from its shoulders, chest, fists, knees, and back, all hitting Godzilla and exploding him. Sandy fell to the floor, banging it with his fist and Jack bounced in his bed giving a joyous whoop at his victory.

Peeking up from where he was sitting, Sandy sent a glare loaded with determination and renewed vengeance, and Jack merely grinned in return.

As one the two prepared for the final clash, Sandy creating a Darth Vader helmet for himself and making hundred of tiny little clone troopers running across the bedspread. Jack made himself an ice lightsaber, and sent his own army of miniature Chewbacca's, Luke Skywalker's, Han Solo's, and various other rebel allies. Both giving their own war cry, the two commanders urged their armies forward until both were on the precipice of an epic clash. But then, North suddenly came bursting into the room, his face red from the length that he had quite obviously ran to get to Jack's room on time.

The large man looked around in confusion, his blue eyes taking in the scene before him. Jack sat in bed, an ice lightsaber in hand and pointed at Sandy, while his hair, face, and shirt were dyed various colors ranging from pink to chocolate obviously from the ice cream that had been dribbling down one ear but froze halfway. Sandy was in equal of a mess from ice cream, and the man was currently dressed as a golden Darth Vader complete with flowing cape, and lightsaber. One white eyebrow shot up and North had to swallow the giggles that so badly wanted to burst out of his mouth. Giving a gruff cough, the man cleared his throat of any laughter that may betray his amusement, and pointed a disciplinary finger at his two family members.

"Sandy," North said in mock anger "I thought you said you were going to cheer Jack up so that he would agree to rest, not rile him up and make him hyper."

Sandy, still dressed in his costume, looked down at the floor like a scolded child, making North have to cough once more. Turning to the winter spirit, North scowled "And Jack," he continued "you should be resting, for all we know, you could have popped stitch. It would have been very uncomfortable for you if I had to close your incision again, yes?"

Jack looked down at the bed sheets in guilt, his lightsaber resting across his knees "Yeah," he sighed "…I guess…"

"Besides," North said finally allowing a small smirk to quirk his mouth and a mischievous gleam to twinkle in his eyes "I find it very rude to have epic star wars battle…without ME!"

Jack and Sandy immediately looked back up, their faced adorned with the brightest of smiles, and North let out a long hard laugh "Next time," he bellowed "we will have battle downstairs in ballroom! Then we can go all out!"

"Yeah!" Jack shouted as he bounced in excitement, Sandy backing him up by flying around the room with two thumbs up.

North waved his hands to calm them down "But," he chuckled "for now…you two get cleaned up, you are covered in ice cream."

Jack giggled as he inspected himself, and then allowed Sandy to help him by crawling into the golden wheelchair the keeper of dreams had created for the boy. Soon both were scrubbing away the sticky mess, each using their own bathroom that was connected to the room North had built just for them. North returned to his study, a happy smile on his face, and sat down in order to create more blueprints for future toys, but for some reason he kept carving out Star wars toys. Oh well, the old man shrugged, at least things are more fun what with their newest guardian, and North expected many more fun time to be had in the future…He couldn't wait!

**I hope you like it Elysenjazz, I know it isn't QUITE what you requested, but I did try…**

**REVIEW!**


	32. Human Bunny2

**Hey everybody! Thanks for all the awesome reviews! The winner of this Review Game is …. *drumroll* … ****Viridianaln9!**

**So Congratulations, the usual rules apply, send your request either to my PM, or in a review.**

**So here is the next chapter of Human Bunny…ENJOY!**

Bunny looked up to see the form of an overheated winter spirit, who was currently staring at him with wide eyes, and a mouth that opened and shut much like a fish attempting to breath outside of water. He felt his eyebrows furrow as he tilted his head in confusion, and then slowly shoved himself up onto his elbows in an attempt to stand up. But suddenly the bunny turned human felt something strange, a breeze cut across him, but the weird part was that it hit…exposed skin…

"What?" Bunny murmured as he looked down…and immediately regretted said decision.

He gazed on the naked form of a muscular eighteen year old young man, with tattoos resembling his former stripes covering his body. His armor hung loosely from his chiseled frame, and Bunny felt a wave of panic knock his senses askew. Jack stayed where he was standing, his eyes wide, and his hands gripping his staff so tightly his knuckles were an even lighter shade of pale. Both boys looked up until they locked eyes, and the result was immediate, both burst out screaming in each other's faces as they struggled to process just what happened to the Pooka.

"…Y-you…!" Jack gasped "Y-you're…HUMAN!"

"…I know…" Bunny whimpered in between panicked shrieks.

"You're…HUMAN!" Jack repeated.

"I KNOW!" Bunny shouted.

The duo stared at each other before screaming all over again, Jack's hands spreading apart as his mouth hung agape with the screams of surprise issuing from it "And…" the winter sprite bellowed in sudden shock "You're NAKED!"

Bunny quickly looked down, and let out another scream, using his armor to try and cover up the important areas "Then stop LOOKING!"

"How am I not going to notice a naked guy running around the woods?" Jack shrieked "It's not like it's something you normally see!"

"Ya never cared while I was a Pooka!" Bunny bellowed.

"That's because you had FUR," Jack spluttered as he waved his arms wildly "and you were a rabbit, so it hardly counts!"

"Well it's not like I wanted ta end up like this," Aster yelled as he ran to hide behind a tree, tripping over his own legs and the loose shin guards "so stop yelling at me!"

"I'm not yelling at you!" Jack screamed with a foot stomp.

"You're doin' a fairly good impression of it then," The rabbit turned human yelled back as he peeked around the tree trunk to glare at Jack "why don't you do somethin' productive and go get North!"

"Fine, I will!"

"Good!"

"BYE!"

Bunny leaned against the rough bark of the tree, a firm pout decorating his features, but suddenly a soft thud sounded behind him. Leaning back around, the Pooka noticed that Jack had fainted and fallen into the grass, which resulted in Bunny hitting his forehead with his palm. Luckily he did not have to consider Plan B, because it was then that he heard sleigh bells. Breathing a sigh of relief, the former Pooka waited till North landed the sleigh, and then looked over to where the reindeer were pawing the ground. Slowly stepping around the tree, Bunny walked tentatively across the grass, trying to be as modest as possible in his new situation. North was already at Jack's side, asking him if Pitch had attacked, to which Jack replied with senseless gibberish that had something to do with naked rabbits. North wouldn't understand what Jack was talking about until he looked up, and locked eyes with Bunny.

"Hey mate," Bunny said uncertainly his feet shuffling in discomfort "ya don't mind lendin' me yer coat, do ya?"

North felt his mouth drop open as he gazed at Bunny, to which the Pooka sighed "Jest get it out, mate," he growled in irritation "might as well scream now so we can take care of business later."

North willingly complied, his blue eyes wide as his hands flew to his head and gripped his hair. One finger began wildly pointing at Bunny, a scream accompanying each part he pointed at as he tried to convey his shock and confusion. Bunny waited patiently, one foot tapping the ground, and his nails drumming the piece of Pooka armor currently hiding his front from view. Finally after about five minutes, North regained his composure, and promptly walked over, plunking his coat around Bunny. Aster promptly stuck his arms through the coat, and wrapped it around himself, feeling a little better now that he was properly covered.

"…Uh…" North began nervously "Do I want to know?"

"I think it was Pitch," Aster said in as confident and tough voice that he could muster while standing wearing only North's coat "I got a weird egg, and when I opened it, purple smoke surrounded me and I woke up like this."

"Hmmm…" North hummed as one hand played with his bottom lip in thoughtful silence "well," the large man shrugged "it is best we get back to North Pole, that way Jack can recover, and you can get some clothes."

"Agreed," Bunny nodded firmly, and proceeded to walk towards the sleigh.

In no time, the trio had made the trip and Bunny was dressed in modern clothing made for young men his age. Black jean pants adorned his legs, while a tight fitting white T-shirt covered by a black leather bomber jacket covered his torso. Thick mountain boots were on his feet, and North had even made a leather side holster that buckled around his waist and rested on one slim hip for his boomerangs. All in all, the rabbit looked pretty cool, and the guardians were impressed with his transformation. Tooth even blushed when Aster glanced her way, his stormy green eyes accented by the grayish blue hair on his head.

"Well, this stinks," Aster sighed as he plopped down on the couch "but it could be a lot worse."

"Exactly, good thought Bunny," North bellowed in agreement "for now we just think about helping you get comfortable in your room so that later, we figure out how to turn you back."

"I agree," Jack nodded from where he sat on a nearby table "there isn't much we can do right now, but I do have a question."

"Yeah," Bunny asked slowly "and what's that?"

"Why do you look so…so…young?"

Bunny jerked back as if slapped "Because I am, when I was chosen as a Guardian I was still a young male in Pooka terms. We age much slower than humans, and I was still in my prime when I became the Easter Bunny."

"Oh…" Jack said, his eyes wide at the realization.

Aster jumped from the couch, stomping over to the winter sprite "And what's _that_ supposed to mean? What, ya don't believe me?"

Jack shrugged at the angry teen towering over him "I just thought that you were, you know…older."

"And you're a stupid little kid, but I knew that." Bunny spat.

"You act like some ancient rabbit with arthritis!" Jack retorted "Always complaining about how cold it is, or how your paws ache, you can't blame me for not thinking you were still young."

"I'm not some doddering old man, ya git!" Bunny snarled.

"Hey," Jack snapped back, his hands rising in front of him defensively "it's not my fault that you act like a grumpy old man most of the time."

"Say that to me one more time, Snowflake," Bunny growled "I dare ya!"

"You're a grumpy old Bunny," Jack repeated slowly now nose to nose with the rabbit turned human.

"Frostbite!"

"Kangaroo!"

"Brain freeze!"

"Furless freak!"

"BOYS!" Tooth finally shrieked causing both young men to look in her direction "Enough fighting! We are supposed to be family, and while families do have disagreements, I will not allow you to bicker when we need to figure out just what Pitch did to Bunny. So zip it, and sit you're butts down, before I make sure that you get a quarter under your pillows tonight!"

Both boys blanched at the threat, knowing that it was a sure promise if they had disobeyed, and promptly sat down occasionally nudging each other in irritation. Tooth turned back to the team, her face cleared of the angry cloud and now happy and upbeat once again.

"Now," she chirped "I and the girls will get to work researching Bunny's…condition…and I will report back on anything I find."

With a flutter of wings, the humanoid hummingbirds flit off in the direction of the library leaving the men on their own. Sandy quickly signed that he needed to get to work, and he also left. North looked over at the two boys, and gave a heavy sigh, dragging one heavy hand down his face. In truth, Jack and Bunny were the youngest members, for as the rabbit had said, he too was stuck in the flower of youth when he had been chosen by MiM to become the Easter Bunny. Jack was young, stuck at sixteen for the rest of eternity, and Bunny was not much better, as he was trapped at eighteen, which probably explained why they always became so immature around each other. They really were brothers in more than one way, they were both stuck in the minds and bodies of youth, and they both were alone having gone through unthinkable horrors just to survive and make it where they were today. But if only they could realize that!

"Ok!" North said with a clap of his hands "Let's go and get Bunny's room ready for him, I'm sure he will need a new bed, and plenty of clothes. THEN, we can play in the gym, and help him get used to his new body, yes?"

"Fine," Jack muttered, still mad at Bunny.

"Whatever," Aster shrugged refusing to look at the winter spirit on his right.

With belabored movements that screamed their reluctance to go alone with North's plans, the boys stood and stomped up the stairs and walked the length of hall till they reached Bunny's room. Quietly, they took down the nest that had originally stood in the corner, and together they helped the Yetis piece the large sleigh style bed together, and cover it with mattresses and blankets. It was during this time while he and Jack were silently hanging up new clothes in the wardrobe, Bunny felt a strange feeling clutch his chest in an icy vice grip. Looking around, the rabbit turned teen absorbed the sight of a normal human bed, and then looked down at the item of human clothing he was currently holding in his hands. Suddenly his throat grew thick, and Aster felt his eyes begin to sting and burn, and his nose began to drip as he fought the panic attack that was hitting him in waves.

Jack had not noticed the change until he heard Bunny begin to sniffle every five minutes, and then looked over just in time to see the larger teen boy make a quick swipe at his eyes and wipe his nose with his hand. "Um…" Jack began softly his blue eyes gazing at the former Pooka with worry "Are you ok Bunny."

"M' fine," came the gruff reply.

"No, no you're not," Jack leaned closer "are you crying?"

"No, I'm not," Bunny snarled green eyes flashing with anger at being caught "so just leave me alone!"

"Then what's wrong," Jack huffed "allergies?"

"It's none of yer business Snowflake, so shove off."

"Look, if you have a problem, you shouldn't just bottle it up," Jack winced inwardly as he realized how many times he had broken his own advice "you should just talk about it."

"Well I don't wanna talk about it with you," Aster snapped "you wouldn't understand, so just leave me ALONE!"

Throwing the shirt down, Bunny stomped from the room and slammed the door as he ran into the hall. Jack rushed to the door, opening it and gazing after the form of the transformed Pooka as he sprinted down the hallway. Quickly running back into the room to grab his staff, Jack followed the running human teen, flying as fast as he could without endangering himself in the attempt to catch up. Bunny ran, the feeling of hopelessness weighing his heart down as he realized how slow and clunky he felt. He hated this, hated not having the familiar agility of a Pooka, hated feeling so weak and helpless, hated not being able to see the hope in this situation, and most of all he hated feeling like he no longer had the right to be a guardian. He just wanted a quiet place, somewhere he could think, and gather his thoughts. Sprinting up the winding staircases, Bunny ran until he found a small door, and burst through it to find himself on the roof.

Even though it was freezing, Bunny plopped himself on the tiled roof, and finally allowed himself to have a melt down over being turned human. Tears sped faster and faster down his face as his chest heaved with the shuddering breaths wracking his frame. Jerking broken sobs wracked his frame, and Bunny wrapped his arms around himself as he doubled over, and allow screams of fear, hopelessness, and grief issue from his mouth. Wails and curses rang from the roof, all the while the teen sat there trembling both from the cold and from the force of his weeping. Strong hands gripped his gray hair, and his eyes clenched shut as he rocked back and forth, trying to withstand the tsunami of emotional pain destroying him from the inside out, and shattering his heart beneath its booted feet. This was how Jack found him.

Guilt for how he had treated him earlier flooded the winter child as he shuffled uncomfortably in the snow, his sad blue eyes watching his friend sob from the torment attacking his mind and emotions. Slowly, tentatively, Jack walked across the space separating them, and knelt behind Bunny. Arms reached out to hug him, but they stopped when he noticed how violently Aster was shivering from the already cold environment, and so he settled with sitting behind the teen backwards, his back propped against Bunny's broad one. Aster immediately tensed, feeling the familiar cold form of Jack, but after realizing that Jack was not going to berate him for his less than dignified state Bunny relaxed against the comfort of having someone sit with him and continued his much needed cry out. Finally after about five or so minutes, Bunny came to a shuddering stop, and merely sat on the roof, sniffling every once in a while.

"You know," Jack said softly, his arms hugging his knees after placing his staff on the roof "I come here too, to think…it's nice…because no one really comes up here so I don't have to worry about anyone spying or bothering me when I want to be alone."

"Yeah," Aster replied in a slightly nasal voice as he rubbed his nose and gazed out on the frozen tundra with red rimmed eyes "it's a pretty good place…except its bloody freezin' out here."

Jack let a small breathy laugh burst from his lips "Yeah, sorry, I don't really notice it, but it's still a great place to come."

Aster merely nodded, a small smile quirking his face. Jack waited a few moments, his hands idly stroking his staff, before speaking again "You can come back here," he said quietly "if you want to, I mean it's always nice to have an...escape."

Bunny paused, his whirling mind finally finding a grip on one solid piece of truth, that whether he knew it or not the guardians, including Jack, were his family. Drawing his knees up to his chin, Bunny hugged himself, before replying to the youngest member of the team.

"Thanks…"

**WOW! How did I manage to write all this in one night? I have no idea, but somehow it worked…Enjoy, and PLEASE review!**


	33. Haunted

**OK! So this is the request chapter from Viridianaln9, so everyone please enjoy. Once again we are at the beginning of yet another 100 reviews so don't hold back, and let's see who will win next time! **

**I.F.T.S.- So close, and yet so far, glad you are enjoying the drabble, and keep trying, you may win this time!**

**Riz- Thank you for the compliment, I had so much fun writing that scene, and really wanted to convey their utter shock and just have both Jack and Bunny wig out LOL. And yes, North's reaction was priceless, as was Bunny patiently waiting for him to stop screaming.**

**Elysenjazz- I have never read the books, so unfortunately I know nothing of their original characters and their back stories. I build my plotlines off what I have seen in fanfictions, and what is put in the wiki on each character.**

**Lovepuppy- LOVED writing the scream attacks LOL! And don't worry, only the best people can count themselves among the ranks of the mentally unstable LOL.**

**Midnight Lupus- Remember at the end of chapter 28, and the beginning of this chapter, I wrote that Jack was quickly overheating due to it being summer. So add in the fact that one of his closest friends got turned into a human, and I would say that the shock and heat stroke would be enough to make anyone topple over LOL. Not to mention the gorgeousness that would be Bunny as a human, if it were me instead of Jack there, I would probably faint just from the fact that I found myself the perfect man LOL!**

**FeastofDeath- Wow…I feel like hiding now because I'm blushing so badly from all your praise! Thank you, I try to give my readers an enjoyable experience, despite the fact that I am still FAR from an accomplished writer.**

**To anyone wondering where chapter one to Human Bunny was, it is chapter 28, I changed the title so that it may be found more quickly. Thank you!**

"Please?"

"NO!"

Jack huffed, crossing his arms as he cast a petulant pout across the space separating him from Bunny. "But why?" he whined "It's only for an afternoon, and for some reason North thinks I shouldn't go alone!"

"I'll tell ya why, ya drongo," Bunny said with an impatient sigh "Yer wantin' to go to a theme park that's all decked out for Halloween, ON Halloween, just so that ya can ride on the rollercoaster rides and go through the haunted houses."

"Yeah," Jack affirmed with a nod "I didn't know that amusement parks did that till Jaime told me, and I want to go, so what's the problem?"

"The problem," Bunny growled irritably "is that we only just defeated the Boogeyman, and those places are a practically a buffet for him to feed off of. What would ya do if ya went to a place overflowing in fear, and just happen to come face to face with Pitch when he is high off of the terrors of the masses, and ya don't have a single believer in the area to give ya the strength ta fight?"

Jack winced at the reminder of his still rather copious lack of nonbelievers "You don't know he'll be there." He muttered miserably.

Bunny finally looked up from the egg he had been painting in time to see Jack wilt, and immediately regretted his, though logical, completely misinterpreted words "Look Jackie," Bunny said gently placing one paw on the winter child's shoulder and giving it a comforting squeeze "I would be in the same boat as you. Most of my believers are small children, and the time you want to go to this thing, not many kids will be there, it will be mostly teenagers and adults. Pitch doesn't depend on the fears of children, and he doesn't need believers to be strong, he just needs fear. In an amusement park full of scared people, we would be sitting ducks for his pleasure, mate. I just don't think it would be wise."

Jack remained silent, his face downcast and sullen until finally let out a groan of resignation "Fine," he said throwing his paws up into the air "I probably can't keep ya from goin' on yer own, so I might as well babysit ya to keep ya safe."

The winter child threw Bunny a venomous glare, though it was betrayed by the happiness shining in his eyes "You're not babysitting me!" he defended "I just thought you needed a break from the warren, you're starting to look less like a Kangaroo and more like an egg, which by the way is not a flattering look for you."

"Better an egg, than a dead Guardian," the rabbit grumped "but nevertheless I see yer point. Come on, let's get goin', if yer forcin' me ta go to this shindig with ya, then we might as well be on time."

Jack leapt to his feet, his face wreathed in a happy grin "Awesome," he yelled "come on Kangaroo, move your tail!"

Bunny shook his head fondly as he stood up and dusted his legs off from where he had been sitting on the grass. In truth, Jack was probably right, the chances of Pitch being there and capable of launching an attack quite yet were slim. But Aster still felt an odd sense of unease about the whole thing, and even though he knew he would never be able to talk Jack out of going, he also knew that the boy needed the protection of another should things go wrong. Hopefully they won't, but one can never be too cautious, at least that's what the anthropomorphic rabbit told himself.

…..

Pitch stretched his arms over his head, his face doleful as he gazed out on his dark cavernous kingdom. It had only been about a year since the Guardians had defeated him, and he had yet to truly gain his full power back, but the Boogeyman was hopeful. Perking up with a sinister smile full of glee, he remembered that tonight was Halloween, and a certain theme park in the state of Illinois decked itself out for the occasion, making all the paths an endless haunted house and converting all the rides into tools for terror. Tonight he would collect more than enough fear to gain a decent portion of his old abilities back. He at least would be able to live comfortably, but any thoughts of once again mounting an attack on the Guardians wouldn't be for another few years or so.

Slowly coming to a stand, the Boogeyman began his ascent out of his hole, and towards the theme park where he would find his buffet of a night filled with horrified screams.

…..

"COOL!" Jack gawped as they entered the theme park by merely walking through the lines of people.

Bunny rolled his eyes and gave a gentle shake of his head, to be perfectly honest, he didn't see much of what was cool about it. The front fountain of the theme park had been dyed red, while fake zombies and skeletal corpses lay on the edges. Within the fountain itself were small floating pieces of debris that looked like pieces of a shipwreck and were lit on fire, while the bodies of drowned sailors floated in its waters. The employees of the park itself were dressed as werewolves, vampires, zombies, and creepy looking clowns carrying chainsaws. A giant spider had been hung on the support beams of a rollercoaster, and the paths throughout the park were littered with people dressed like ghastly ghouls and specters scaring any who dared come near.

Giving a small shudder, Bunny crossed his arms and looked around, they should be relatively safe from discovery. There were no small children in sight, and even if they should come across an adult or teenage believer, they would fit in with the strange décor and odd costumes that were worn during this time of year. What Bunny was truly worried about was the amount of screaming he heard on the paths, and how many people were scaring each other, encouraging the sense of fear already filling the place. Looking over to the winter spirit at his side, the rabbit took a small but definite step closer to the teen, he needed to keep his eyes out for Pitch…Just in case.

A good portion of the night was actually spent in fun, with the duo riding the mysteriously empty seats on rollercoaster trains, and "photo bombing" people's family pictures by walking up behind them and making stupid faces just as the shutter clicked. It wasn't until near the end of the night when Jack got the bright idea to walk one of the haunted paths set aside exclusively for haunting and tricks.

"Bunny," Jack said jumping up and down excitedly a hunk of half eaten cotton candy well in hand "let's go down this path, it looks really creepy!"

Aster looked down the path in question and could definitely agree, it looked creepy, which only made the alarm bells in his head go off at an all time high "I don't know Snowflake," he murmured softly as his animal instincts that warned him against danger screeched in the back of his head "something seems off about that one."

"Bunny," Jack groaned "you've been avoiding the haunted trails all night, but we've already ridden all the rides like twelve times…EACH! It's time for a haunted path."

"We were having fun photo bombing all those people's pictures," Bunny smiled in an attempt to placate the boy into changing his mind.

"Yeah it was fun," Jack shrugged his face suddenly growing somber "until you remember that no one will actually see you, then what's the point?"

"Well when you say it with that attitude," Aster scolded playfully "then of course it sounds pointless, but the point is not so much being seen as it is you know you put something extra special in their picture that they probably won't notice until later…and maybe have a laugh over it."

Jack didn't look convinced, and once again Bunny found his hackles rising and fur bristling as he looked down the foreboding trail "Fine," he growled "but stay close."

"Why, you scared cotton tail?" Jack laughed.

"No," Bunny stated as they walked towards the haunted pathway "just cautious about-"

Suddenly the rabbit paused, gathering his thoughts as he walked beside the winter teen. He wasn't quite sure how to tell Jack this, but the one thing about being a Guardian, is that their fear is so much more…delicious to the Boogeyman. Plus the fact that Pitch gained most of his strength from the pure fear emanated by small children. Considering Jack was trapped for all eternity in the body of a child, and him being a Guardian, those two things made his fear extremely valuable and maybe even addicting to their dark foe. Bunny knew that Pitch would get strong by taking advantage of his own fears, but what about Jack's? The idea was too much, and Aster was tempted to turn this car around right here and now, but the look of excited joy on Jack's face made him pause, maybe he was just being paranoid. Pitch hadn't been seen in over a year, and it was unlikely that he had enough strength to do anything too terribly dangerous to them, so all in all they were probably safe. But even as that thought helped Bunny's shoulders lose their tense posture, a stray niggling in the back of his brain whispered a warning, and urged his instincts to kick into hyper drive.

Jack walked down the pathway, completely oblivious to the true reason behind Bunny's unease, his arms swinging while one hand clutched his staff in relaxed ease. It was almost Pitch-…It was almost completely black outside, lit only by the occasional lamp, and the Jack-o-lanterns on the side of the path. Suddenly a spooky laugh sounded from one of the trees, accompanied by the sound of a cat shrieking and hissing. A small rope of fear curled up in his stomach, but Jack quickly shook his head, banishing it from his thoughts. He was _not_ scared, not on his own, and certainly not while Bunny was standing next to him. Remembering the past summer where he and Bunny had gone to listen to camp fire ghost stories, Jack winced, not liking the embarrassing fool he had made of himself when he had thought the yeti was the ghoul coming to take their lives. But then the winter teen pursed his lips, his face slowly lighting up as he remembered, Bunny acted pretty scared too so at least he wasn't alone in the embarrassing scream fest that was that night.

A group of giggling girls walked up behind them and Jack tugged on Aster's paw, bright blue eyes child like in his need to have some fun "Hey Bunny," he whispered with a conspiratorial grin that only grew wider when the rabbit leaned down and played along "let's keep close to those girls, we will get the full effect of the haunted path because the actors will scare them, and we can freak them out a little too."

Bunny found a fond chuckle coming up his throat and he made a show of pondering Jack's idea "Sounds like a fascinating idea," he guffawed in an over exaggerated British accent "my dear boy, how _do_ you come up with these things?"

Jack gave a mock bow his face beaming with the game they were playing "Oh, they just come naturally," he shrugged in his own British accent "it's a gift really."

"Or a curse," Aster laughed giving the boy a playful push "dependin' on whose getting' yer royal treatment from yer bag of tricks."

The winter teen shrugged his mischievous smile never leaving "Come on cotton tail, we need to keep up if we want to see all this park has to offer on its 'scariest pathway'."

"A'right," Aster laughed as they loped into a short run to catch up with the group of girls.

Sneaking up behind them, Jack sent Bunny a wink and a giggle, and gently blew cold air on the back of a blonde girls neck causing her to shriek "Ohmygosh!"

"What?" the other girls asked, their faces streaked in worry.

"I, like, felt a cold spot!" the blonde shrieked.

"A what spot?" one of the other girls, a brunette, asked.

"A cold spot," a black girl said as if she were quoting a dictionary "a phenomenon that usually accompanies ghost activity, identified as a severely cold spot in the room despite the rest of the area being warm."

"Girl," another black girl said with a wave of her hand "that's just Chicago, you know this state can't decide when it comes to weather."

"Are you sure?" the blonde girl asked "because it was right on the back of my neck."

"It was a breeze," the brunette sighed with a laugh "now come on, we barely started and you're already freaking out!"

Jack was doubled over laughing "S-She said…" he guffawed while wildly waving his finger in the girls' direction "She said I was a cold spot!"

Aster smirked "If she only knew," he said casting his eyes skyward and shaking his head.

Jack straightened up with an indignant pout, giving the rabbit a punch on the arm the winter child stuck out his tongue and then ran ahead "You're turn kangaroo!" he yelled over his shoulder.

Bunny shook his head then felt a mischievous grin of his own stretch his features. Walking up behind the girls, he looked for the one who had the strongest amount of belief still fluttering in the deepest regions of her subconscious, and of course it was the same girl Jack picked on. Leaning in close, he barely rested his chin on her shoulder, and whispered softly in her ear.

"Oi Sheila, where ya goin'?"

The girl tensed, and cast her eyes around looking for the source of the voice "Uh, guys," she said in a quavering voice "any of you hear that?"

"Hear what?" came the reply which made the girl firmly clamp her mouth shut in order to avoid more teasing.

Bunny looked over to Jack, who urged the Pooka on, and once again turned to the girl "Ya betta not be goin' down there, girly," he said in his spookiest voice "I don't think ya can handle it."

"Ok, this isn't funny you guys!" the blonde pouted and Jack flew over allowing his cold to dance over the girl causing her to once again start screaming "This place is totally haunted, I'm out of here!"

The girls turned around in time to see their friend take off running for the entrance, their faces wreathed in grins at her inability to handle the haunted path. What the girls didn't see however was Bunny and Jack rolling on the ground helplessly as loud hoots of laughter shook their frames. The winter teen wiped his eyes free from the tears of mirth, looking over to Aster, the boy chuckled "That was awesome."

"Yeah," Bunny nodded with a grin "let's see how many of the other ones we can scare away!"

The boys then began trying to scare the other girls, but were disappointed to see that the other three were made of sterner stuff than their friend, and so they settled with walking beside them. At first the path wasn't that bad, with decorated landscape, and spooky sounds, it was pretty mild, and Jack found himself remarking often to his friend about 'how was this supposed to be the scariest path in the park?', but they hadn't made it into the Ghost Town yet, and that was where the fun truly began.

Pitch hung in the shadows, sitting cross legged on a nearby roof of a building, slowly clapping his hands in appreciation of how Jack and Bunny scared the girl. True he still hated them, but he _was_ the Boogeyman, and if there was anything he could appreciate it was someone pulling off a decent scare. He didn't know that the rabbit and Frost had it in them to be so…evil, but somehow the act made them rank a little higher in his respect for the Guardians…well at least for those two. His elation was short lived however as he saw that the other girls were not falling for their tricks, and the dark specter shook his head in fond amusement.

"Amateurs," he sighed as he slid off the roof and glided down towards the group.

Melting into the shadows so not to be discovered by the Guardians, Pitch gave a wicked grin "Allow me to show you," he hissed happily "how the professionals handle things."

Suddenly the flame within the Jack-o-lanterns began to sputter and dance, and the lamps overhead flickered in and out, the electricity buzzing as they struggled to stay on. The girls got restless, their eyes dancing back and forth, and slowly they began to huddle close together seeking comfort. They were not the only ones being affected. Jack unconsciously began walking closer to the rabbit, his teeth catching his bottom lip as he watched the lights flicker in and out. Bunny looked down sensing the boy's sudden unease, placing a strong paw on his shoulder, the rabbit spoke softly.

"Ya ok Jackie?"

"Huh?" Jack turned to Aster ripping his gaze away from the dying lamps and looking into the calming green depths of his friend's "Yeah, I'm fine, nothing's wrong."

Bunny raised an incredulous eyebrow then shrugged. As they walked, a shadow skittered across the path accompanied by ghostly voices, causing the girls to scream. Jack yelped, his cold fingers immediately wrapping around Bunny's wrist, but he just as quickly let go casting a sheepish grin over to his friend. That was when they entered the ghost town.

Building lit up by colored lights of red, purple, green, and orange held the actors dressed in the bloody rags of the corpses they were impersonating. Pitch giggled gleefully as he used his powers of misdirection and deception to guide their steps into the most appropriate areas. A decomposing zombie butcher with bloody pieces of meat hanging around the edges of the building moaned as he waved his knife towards the girls, Bunny felt his chin tilt up just in time to see a row of dead rabbits(fake of course, but extremely well made) hanging alongside, their empty eyes gleaming in the firelight and their death screams echoing in the dark. Bunny gave a shudder, and patted Jack's shoulder in a pretense of comforting the boy, but actually to calm himself.

Jack felt himself being drawn to the pool of water on the edge of the town and felt his heart freeze at the pale figure floating under the water. Leaning over the railing, the winter teen cast horrified eyes on the drowned corpse, only to jump back shrieking when the actor jumped out of the water, dripping water and seaweed, howling at the top of its lungs. A small whimper escaped Jack's lips, and felt himself sidling close to Bunny, a shaking hand firmly grabbing his wrist. The rabbit watched Jack's face, seeing how pale it had suddenly become, and slid the boy's hand down so that it was clutched in his paw. Jack didn't complain, but rather held his staff closer as they shuffled alongside the girls.

Another building, the city hall apparently, with the ghouls of long dead soldiers haunting its steps. Their decomposed faces stared dolefully out, and one reached out a bloodstained hand towards the group, his face stretching as he let out a moan mixed with almost a snarl. Aster shuddered, remembering the faces of the many soldiers he had seen die on the battlefield, and Jack shared his sentiment, as half frozen tears threatened to spill over onto pale cheeks. They passed the town plaza, and in the middle was a crowd of actors, while the soundtrack of an angry mob shouted through the speakers. As they passed by, they noticed that in the middle of the crowd was a girl tied to a stake, and suddenly the stake lit up as they lit the girl on fire. Screams filled the night air, and Jack quickly hid his face from the sight and the heat of the flame, by burying it into Bunny's side. The rabbit unconsciously wrapped his arm around the trembling boys shoulders, his face set in firm dislike, even as his ears trembled in fear.

The girls moved as quickly as possible to the next attraction on the path, their eyes wide with fear, and Pitch grinned widely at the reaction he had gotten from them. But nothing could compare to the sensational amount of terror being put out by Frost, the boy was almost inconsolable as he struggled to keep walking, his cerulean gaze wide with terror. It was delicious, and Pitch wanted more. Suddenly music filled the air, and the group looked ahead to see the next building was actually a circus tent, with a group of actors spilling out of its door. They were dressed as clowns, and each held either a bloody knife, or a bloodstained chainsaw. Their maniacal laughter filled the night, and the girls shrieked as they sprinted past the clowns and towards the nearest exit. Jack fisted Bunny's fur, wanting so badly to fly away, but not wanting to look even more weak than he already was.

Aster heaved a sigh of relief "Well," he said in a hoarse voice "our group abandoned us, so it looks like we won't be seeing what the actors have planned for the rest of the trail."

"Oh, yeah," Jack stammered through chattering teeth "that's too bad…I was enjoying seeing the park's creativity."

Aster smiled and ruffled the white head still firmly buried in his side beneath his arm. Pitch however was not happy, he had not gotten nearly enough fear from the Frost boy, and he wanted just one more taste of unbridled terror. Suddenly an idea set his mouth in a wide grin, and the Boogeyman slithered forth in his last trick on the unsuspecting pair. Just as the duo was walking over a bridge, darkness enveloped Jack, transporting him to another place. When the boy finally got his sight back, he was shocked to see that he was standing in the middle of a pond on top of a piece of flaming ship wreckage, while Bunny was a couple yards away still on the wooden bridge.

Bunny's mind flashed back to just little over a month ago when he had accidentally thrown Jack into one of his dye streams, and how he had learned about the boy's untimely death from drowning. "JACK!" he shouted one paw reaching out from the bridge as if he could pluck the boy from his perch.

"B-B-B-" Jack stammered with trembling lips, glancing down the boy felt his heart seize in fearful panic when he noticed that his staff had somehow disappeared, and a small whimper whined from his lips. "Bunny," came a terrified whisper barely caught by the rabbit across the water "Bunny" this time louder as tears spilled over and Jack felt his legs begin to wobble.

Suddenly a dark wave hit the floating debris, causing it to dip under the water and tip from side to side. The winter child fell to his knees, a wrenched sob shrieking from his lips as his clutched the flaming wood and metal "BUNNY!"

"Hold on Snowflake, I'm comin'!"

Bunny jumped up onto the railing of the bridge, and leapt for all he was worth towards the boy into the dark water. Hitting the surface with a loud splash, the rabbit resurfaced with a gasp, and then swam in lithe strokes, cutting through the waves, in the direction of the bobbing piece of decoration. He grit his teeth at the sobs resounding across the water, his heart clenched at the way he could hear the shuddering gasps speed up until Jack was beginning to hyperventilate in fear. Finally reaching the teen, Bunny stretched out a wet paw, gasping the pale hand currently clenched tightly around a piece of wood.

"Jackie," he said in as calming a tone he could manage "mate, ya need ta calm down."

Shoulders jerked from erratic sobs as the winter sprite struggled to draw breath past already blue lips "I-I can't" he said in a hitched gasp "I c-c-can't…"

With a groan, the rabbit tried to heave himself up onto the debris, but quickly slid back into the water when it looked like it would tip over into the waves, causing Jack to give a panicked shriek. Curling up into a trembling ball, the pale spirit sobbed violently.

"Bu-Bunny," he wept "I don't wanna d-die…I d-don't want…to d-d-DROWN again!"

"Yer not," Aster said confirming his words by gripping the boy's hand in his paw "I won't let you, now kid, I need ya to look at me…come on…ya can do it."

Fearful blue eyes peeked up from where they had been previously buried between his arms, Aster smiled encouragingly, his paw switching from gripping the boy's hand to ruffling his hair "Tha's a good boy," he whispered "now I know this is gonna be hard, but I need ya to come in the water…"

"NOOOO!" the loud whine slipped from trembling lips.

"Jackie, listen ta me," Bunny said patiently as he tried to help the teen overcome his fear "like I said, ya need ta get in the water and hold on around my neck. I'll carry ya back ta the shore, and we'll look fer yer staff, ok mate?"

Porcelain teeth bit his bottom lip, and Jack looked down at the dark waters currently holding his buoy, a violent shudder rocking his frame "Um…" the boy gave a broken whisper "…P-promise not to let go…?"

"I promise," Aster assured with his warm emerald gaze.

"I'm scared,"

"I know"

With small hesitant movements, Jack slowly stretched out one arm, then another until he had wrapped them both around the Pooka's neck. Aster gave an encouraging smile, then gripped the boy by the top of his arms, and pulled him in for a hug. Holding him close the way one would for a small child, Bunny patted the boy's back, whispering words of comfort and assurance before slowly slipping his whole weight into the water. Jack tensed, gripping fur between his fingers, and clenching his teeth with every wave that hit his back. Bunny turned over so that he was floating partly on his back, and swam in reverse, all the while talking to Jack to keep him calm. What felt like an eternity later, they made it to the shore, and Bunny walked up onto the grass, Jack still curled around him in an unrelenting grip.

"Jackie," Bunny spoke softly "Jack, ya need ta let go."

Suddenly the boy began to convulse as sobs wracked his frame, and vibrated through the large rabbit holding him. Tightening the hug, Aster sat down on the soft grass, and gently rocked him back and forth, humming comfortingly. Jack wept harder and harder, his sobs becoming screams of fear, and wails of relief. Bunny held him through it, one paw caressing his head, while the other patted his back gently. It lasted for well over ten minutes, until Jacks sobs slowed to shuddering gasps and small sniffles. Keeping his face firmly buried in Aster's fur, the boy finally allowed his breathing to even out, and then quieted all together. Looking down, Bunny didn't stop his rocking, or patting, merely holding the child until he was ready.

"You ok?" Aster asked softly.

"Y-yeah," came the shuddered answer "I'm ok…but I don't think I can walk yet."

"Tha's ok," Bunny hummed "it's fine, I'll jest wait till yer ready."

"Thanks…"

"I swear, this never gets old" A mocking voice suddenly cackled.

Jack tensed ready to jump up, and Bunny tightened his hold, keeping the child firmly in his arms "Pitch," the rabbit snarled "I had a feeling this was because of you."

"Well, I admit I had something to do with it," The Boogeyman shrugged "but all I did was put him out on the water, the rest was completely hands off."

"Ya jest couldn't resist, could ya, ya overgrown rat bag." The rabbit glared across the water over to the tree branch where Pitch currently stood.

"It isn't in my nature to ignore fear," Pitch smiled wickedly "especially fear as deliciously enjoyable as the kind that Jack has."

"It isn't enough that ya can get the fear of thousands of people," the Pooka growled irritably "ya just have ta pick on Jack, and take advantage of the fact that he's still practically a kid."

"Am not…" came the mumbled retort from Bunny's fur, which was promptly hushed by a gentle flick to the head.

"You know that fear from children is more pure than fear from adults, which is clouded by the façade of trying to remain calm and in control due to their education and knowing why the thing is frightening in the first place." Pitch droned on "Children fear, because they can't understand their fear, thus it is pure undiluted fear. A Guardian's fear is even more so intoxicating due to the fact that you draw your power from children. Jack? He is a delicious sushi roll of childish Guardian's fear."

Bunny felt an eyebrow rise at the metaphor, and Jack looked up at the rabbit his face twisted in dislike "I don't like being referred to as a food group," the boy whispered "especially by him, it makes me almost want to never eat Japanese food ever again."

Bunny covered the snort of laughter with a cough, giving Jack a stern glare reprimanding him to stay silent and let him handle this. Jack shrugged, and then snuggled back into the Pooka's embrace, allowing his eyes to droop closed.

"So what are ya gonna do," Bunny gave a seemingly careless shrug "attack us now?"

"Nah," Pitch gave a lazy yawn "I'm not nearly so strong as for that yet, as much as I would like to. I merely wanted to have some fun."

Bunny opened his mouth to shoot back a sharp retort, and then closed it. If Pitch planned on leaving, and no one had gotten hurt, then he was willing to let things go as they stand. "Fine," the Pooka growled "get out of here before I show you what I do ta people who pick on my family."

Giving a smirk and a sarcastic wave, Pitch flew over them, dropping something long and wooden onto the grass. Leaning forward, Bunny was relieved to see Jack's staff, and then looked down at the sleeping child in his lap. No doubt their fun, plus the scare, had exhausted the boy completely. Flipping the boy across his back and settling him between his shoulders, the rabbit bent down and picked up the staff, then tapped the ground and took off for the North Pole. Once arriving, the rabbit reached to open the door, but was interrupted when it was opened by someone on the inside. A large man loomed over Bunny, a white hockey mask adorning his face, and a chainsaw in hand.

Bunny fell on his butt, screaming his head off, the only thought on his mind being that Pitch had somehow managed to send one of those psychotic clowns home with them. But as swiftly as the man opened the door, he flicked off his mask, and Bunny let out a relieved sigh to see that it was merely North. Clutching his heaving chest with one paw, the rabbit gasped for air.

"North," he growled "ya bloody drongo, what do ya think yer doin' answerin' the door like that?"

"What?" North shrugged as he turned the chainsaw off "I wanted to carve out some more ice for my workshop, and the mask keeps ice from flying into face."

Bunny let out a frustrated groan before once again standing, his concerned face peeking over his shoulder at the, thankfully, still sleeping child "Thank God," the rabbit sighed "at least when Frostbite sleeps, he sleeps hard."

North gave a fond chuckle as they wandered back inside the large castle "Long day?"

"Ya could say that," Bunny groaned following North to Jack's room and gently laying the boy down on his bed and tucking him in "we went to the park, and had fun, but then we saw Pitch."

"WHAT?!" North exploded but then winced when Jack let out a small whine and Bunny hushed him with a firm glare.

"Keep yer voice down," the rabbit growled in a low tone "don't worry, the guy pulled a trick on us, but it worked out ok. He didn't intend to hurt, only to make Jack scared."

"But that is bad enough," North sighed "Jack would give Pitch a lot of power, making him recover faster."

"I know that North," Bunny whispered "but I got it taken care of, and Jack is fine. We'll just remember to be more careful in the future."

Looking down at the sleeping boy, North ruffled his hair, and then dropped a kiss onto his temple causing the child to smile and sigh sweetly before dropping into an even deeper sleep. Walking out of the room, the duo headed to the sitting room, and collapsed into a couple easy chairs with a soft groan. Propping his feet up on a footstool, Bunny smiled as he relaxed into the comfortable cushions of the chair. North looked over and gave a loud laugh.

"Bunny, if I did not know better, I would think you are old man."

Aster gave a halfhearted flick with his hand towards the large man "Shad'dup"

North let loose a long guffaw of laughter then he too settled back "So," he said amiably "how was your day?"

"Long," Aster replied exhaustedly "and…" he continued raising one finger as if he had just had a sudden revelation "I hate clowns…"

**OK! That took forever! **

**Viridianaln9, I hope you enjoyed it. I know it wasn't EXACTLY what you requested, but the story just got away from me and developed a mind of its own, and when I tried to convince it to do what I wanted it threatened to steal my chocolate, and I was all like "NO NOT THE CHOCOLATE!" and it was all "YES I WILL STEAL THE CHOCOLATE!" so I just had to do what it said it wanted.**

**Mystic- How did you like the Pitch scenes? LET ME KNOW!**

**OK everyone, REVIEW! And I mean NOW! We are at 628, so let's see those numbers start dancing!**


	34. Human Bunny3

**So here is the next chapter of Human Bunny, and I decided to make it a bit fluffy, with mostly filler and brotherly love. So enjoy, and let the fluff-mobile roll!**

**Frostfan- Believe it or not, I am planning on an arc after Human Bunny that is going to be a tad dark and SUPER angsty! It features Pitch as an ally(eventually anyways), and it is titled Visions. So you have something to look forward to ;-)**

**Riz- You are so funny…I am actually the youngest of three girls, and we actually had fun scaring eachother. We were good at it too LOL The Ghost Town, and all the ideas for the theme park is based on the Ghost Town I walked through at Six Flags Great America near Chicago. Was pretty epic that year.**

**Cayran- You gave me a great idea, and I will work on that hurt/comfort fic with Bunny, Sabine, and Jack **

**Lovepuppy- Now you know you need to write a chapter with Jack chasing Bunny around dressed like a clown, right?**

**Night-Fury1- I will consider it, lol I'm sure it will tickle my muse eventually, and I will keep it in my file of future chapter ideas.**

**Synk- Definitely! That sounds fun!**

**No, I do not own ROTG…*sigh* but it'd be nice if I did.**

Bunny and Jack walked back inside, the newly turned human teen shivering as he reentered the warmth of the workshop. Jack looked up at the much taller boy, his face solemn and pensive.

"So…" he began slowly "You were technically eighteen when you were chosen as a Guardian?"

"Technically," Aster bobbed his head in a nod still rubbing the feeling back into his arms "I mean, I was over three hundred years old, but to a Pooka that is still really young. So in human terms I would be about in my twenties, but in spirit terms I'm even younger. Like, you've been around for three hundred years, but we still think of you as a kid, because we've been around at least double that, and I was about four hundred when I became a Guardian. So to the man in the moon, I'm about eighteen years old."

"Cool!" Jack grinned brightly his face glowing with mischief "So that means when you try to act all mature and try to make me feel like a dumb little kid, you're actually not much more than a kid yourself!"

"I-I wouldn't say that," Bunny grumped not liking where Jack was going with that particular train of thought "I'm still older than you."

"You may be older," Jack snickered flying up to hover in front of Bunny as they walked "but you're still a kid."

"Am not," Bunny growled irritated at the winter child's conclusion.

"Are too," Jack replied sticking out his tongue.

"Are not!" Bunny reached forward and grabbed the pale tongue and yanked on it causing Jack to give a small yelp.

"Are TOO!" Jack said pouting at the abuse of his poor appendage.

"I am NOT a kid!" Aster finally snarled.

"Then prove it by not acting like one!" Jack yelled before stepping back and smugly crossing his arms.

Aster stood, his hands clenched into fists on either side of him before turning his smoldering green eyes to the child determined to act out the part of the obnoxious younger brother "Fine," he hissed "ya wanna play that game, let's play. Meet ya on the court Brain Freeze, and I suggest ya bring yer A game."

Jack's face lit up one thousand watts at the mention of basketball in the gym "Oh yeah," he whooped punching the air and flying at top speed towards the gym, "It is ON Kangaroo!" he yelled over his shoulder.

Aster gave a devilish grin to the retreating form of the winter sprite, and popped his knuckles "Ya bet it is Snowflake."

"Ok!" North bellowed in the gym as he stood between Jack and Bunny holding a basketball in one hand "The rules are simple, no powers, and no dirty tricks. This is fair game, and I will make sure that everyone follows rules."

"Sounds good ta me," Aster said with an evil laugh "just as long as Brain freeze over there understands that he can't use his powers, the game will be a piece o' cake."

"Whatever Kangaroo," Jack smirked "I don't need my powers to beat you in good old one on one basketball."

"Begin!" with that North threw the ball up into the air and watched the two boys jump after it.

Bunny being taller and having longer arms reached the ball with ease and tucked it protectively under his arm until he landed back on the court. Feinting right, Bunny quickly dodged back left and blasted past Jack, dribbling down the court stopping only to leap and slam dunk the ball into Jack's net. The winter spirit stood in slack jawed silence before his face contorted in vengeful fury. Gritting his teeth, Jack ran up to Bunny ducking low, and slapping the ball from his hands. Scooping it up with his hand, he dribbled down the court, doing a jump shot from the foul line to make a basket. Bunny snarled as he stomped the ground in frustration, glaring at his clunky uncoordinated feet, cursing the fact that he was human and not his usual agile self.

"What's wrong Kangaroo?" Jack whooped gleefully "I thought you wanted me to bring my A game?"

"Very funny Frost," Bunny snarled as his anger began to rise.

The game continued and North found himself actually starting to worry from the sheer amount of physical force that was being used on the court. Bunny and Jack just couldn't seem to work together. Suddenly an idea struck the large man, his mouth suddenly stretching into a wide grin of mischief, and delight. Oh yes, this might work, North began to chuckle, this might turn out fine. Raising his hands, North called out to the boys, waving his arms wildly.

"Boys, boys," he shouted over the sounds of play "stop and come over here!"

Bunny and Jack paused long enough to send confused looks over to North, before once again facing each other. Whatever brotherly bonding time they had had on the roof, was all but forgotten when they got on the court, and somehow both had allowed their overly competitive natures get the better of them. Now the duo was angry at the other for seemingly petty reasons, at least from North's point of view, and the large man could already see that if Bunny wanted to survive as a human he needed to learn how to stop being a loner and rely on the help of others. The large rabbit had always been protective, and worked well with the team as they fought, but no one could deny that part of the reason that Jack and Bunny clashed so badly was because they saw themselves in the other and it rankled their nerves. Both were loners, both were confident in their own strength, and neither would ever admit to needing help. Thus the reason for North's master plan.

"Ok," he said in a jolly voice "Phil, come over here, we are going to be playing two on two!"

"Wait…" Aster drawled slowly "You wanna play us…"

"Versus YOU?" Jack finished.

"Yes," North nodded enthusiastically "is good idea, no?"

"No…"Bunny shook his head before face palming "I mean…" he amended quickly "Why?"

"Because," the large man shrugged with a purely innocent smile "you look like you are having so much fun, and I want to join. So, Phil will play as my partner, and you two will team up to try and defeat us!"

Phil nodded happily, liking the idea, and the two teen boys stood in slack jawed silence.

"Oh" was the unanimous reply as they struggled to comprehend the hoodwink pulled on them.

"So," North clapped his hands as he rolled up his sleeves "let's play some basketball!"

"Uh…" Jack stammered.

"O-Ok," Aster supplied.

Soon all four were on the court and Jack was eying their opponents with unease, one eyebrow rising towards his hairline as he pondered what kind of players they would be. "Uh, Bunny," he said softly "I don't know if I can take him, either of them."

"Whattaya talkin' about Frostbite," Aster said sarcastically "We're against an old man, and an overgrown throw rug, it'll be a cakewalk…unless you're not man enough for the job?"

Jack grit his teeth, his blue eyes hardening to chipped ice "Fine then," he growled "let's see who can get the most shots."

"Sounds fun," Aster grinned.

North sent a secret smile towards Phil, the yeti merely nodding and speaking gibberish towards the man, and soon the game had begun. Both boys darted forward, Aster's face wide with the grin currently decorating it, but they both soon discovered that they were not as skilled as they thought. Phil bounded towards the boys, his massive hand swiping the ball from Jack, and then turning, he threw the ball between Aster's legs and into North's waiting hands. The large man let out a jolly laugh, and then sprinted down the court, dribbling the ball until he reached the foul line and executed a perfect jump shot. Aster stomped his foot in irritation, and Jack groaned, his head tilted back as he sent waves of aggravated energy towards the ceiling.

"What brain freeze," Aster snapped "couldn't keep a hold of the ball?"

"Whoa," Jack retorted raising his hands defensively "speak for yourself Kangaroo, at least I didn't get schooled by a yeti and couldn't block the shot he made _between your legs_."

The former rabbit grit his teeth as a low growl rumbled in the base of his throat "Oh it's on now frosty."

"Bring it, kid!" Jack spat.

For over an hour, Aster and Jack fought to keep even with North and Phil, but by the end of the third quarter, they had realized that they were being beaten to a broken bloody pulp by an old man, and an overgrown throw rug. Aster stood, bent over with his hands resting on trembling knees, his shoulders heaving as he panted for air. Jack stood nearby, his arms crossed, and a pout firmly stuck on his face. Angry blue eyes glared accusingly at Bunny, and an impatient foot tapped the floor with furious slaps. Aster finally straightened, and turned towards the winter child, his face serious and solemn.

"This isn't working," he practically whispered.

"Ya THINK?!" Jack exploded.

Bunny pinched the bridge of his nose before muttering "I've been acting like an idiotic teenager, both of us are acting like children, we have been so intent on beating each other we can't even focus on beating those two."

Jack shuffled his feet in ashamed silence, he didn't want to admit it, but he knew that he had been acting pretty petulant. Finally heaving a sigh, Jack stepped forward and stuck out his hand "Truce?" he asked blue eyes shimmering with hope.

"Truce," Bunny slapped his larger hand into Jack's more delicate one and shook hard "let's get 'em Frostbite."

North gave a loud laugh "NOW," he bellowed excitedly "let's REALLY play basketball!"

The game began anew, only this time Aster and Jack were new people altogether, playing as teammates and not as rivals. In no time, the duo had not only regained the points they had lost, but they had claimed a one point lead which gradually grew as time passed. North watched the boys play as a team, a proud smile lighting his features at how quickly they adapted to each other's moves, and planned accordingly, making plays that looked perfectly seamless as if they had been practiced hundreds of times. The game finally ended with a twenty point lead in Jack and Bunny's favor, and the boys stood in the middle of the court, drenched in sweat and wearing deliriously happy smiles. Bunny strode forward, his green eyes glowing with pride and happiness.

"That was a good game Jackie," he said warmly raising his hand for a high five "ya did good out there."

"So did you, Bunny," Jack grinned swinging his hand up to connect with his.

…Neither of them expected him to go through Aster…..

Jack flinched, recoiling his hand as if he had been burned, his face screwed into a sharp wince of pain "W-What?" he stammered.

Bunny however was not doing any better. The former rabbit gazed down, his eyes wide as he stared at the space Jack should have been occupying, and then looked around at a sight that made his heart seize in fear. He was no longer in the gym at Santa's workshop, but merely a large gloomy cavern with long stalactites hanging from the ceiling. Stumbling back, Bunny cast his gaze around, searching for an exit, but saw none. It was as if the workshop had disappeared, had never been built, and this room had never been carved out for North's personal use. Running from one end of the cavern to the other, Bunny screamed out, his chest heaving as panic set in.

"JACK!" he bellowed "NORTH, PHIL, GUYS…!"

Walking backwards, his face twitching as he tried to suppress the fear that was tilting him closer and closer to a meltdown, the former Pooka finally fell on the floor his face broken and eyes filling quickly with tears. He shivered as the chill of the North Pole seeped through his clothing and iced his very bones. Rubbing his arms, the boy watched his breath crystallize in front of him, and his mind reeled in terror and confusion. Trembling hands reached up and gripped his hair, and as Aster once again gazed on his surroundings, he began to wonder if he had dreamed it all; if Santa, Jack Frost, the Tooth Fairy, Sandman, and the Easter Bunny were all real. What if he were just some stupid kid that had gotten lost, and whacked his head, and dreamed it all? Was it possible that that whole beautiful world full of magic, Wonder, Hope, Dreams, and Fun was just simply an illusion in order to handle being lost and abandoned in an endless wasteland? Aster quickly gave his head a furious shake, no, he would not think like that.

"They're real, they're real," he whispered as he rocked back and forth "they have to be."

Jack stood, gaping at Bunny, switching between staring at his friend and sending looks of terrified shock at his own hand. Hesitantly, the child walked up behind Bunny, and tried to tap his shoulder, but once again his hand went through and Jack leapt back with a yelp of pain and fear. North also tried to touch him, but had the same results, and soon both were watching as Bunny ran back and forth in the court screaming their names and could only watch as he collapsed onto the floor and began to rock back and forth clutching his head. Jack was there as he began to mutter to himself that Santa was real, Jack Frost was real, the Tooth Fairy existed, and Sandman was a corporeal being. Jack sat next to him, his own blue eyes shimmering with tears.

"Bunny," he gasped hoarsely "Bunny, can you hear me? Kangaroo?"

The only reaction Jack received was Bunny curling into himself, rocking back and forth more furiously as he rubbed his arms as if he were beginning to feel cold. His breathing quickened and Jack noticed that his lips were turning blue, and soon his was becoming pale as his teeth began to chatter. Turning around, Jack cast pleading eyes to North.

"What's happening?" he begged.

"I-I don't know," North stammered softly "I have an idea, but it requires research, and I cannot be sure."

Any further conversation was interrupted by a broken whisper issued from the eighteen year old boy currently curled up on the floor "Guys," he gasped "where are you…?"

"I'm right HERE!" Jack screamed at the top of his lungs.

Aster gasped at the sudden sound, and as if he just resurfaced from nearly drowning, the gloomy cave interior melted away to reveal the cheerful gym, and the worried faces of Jack and North. Warmth flooded him, and Bunny was able to feel his fingertips again. Jack lunged forward, wrapping his arms around Bunny, tears streaming down his face as he squeezed him in a tight embrace. After a minute or so, Jack leaned back and gave Bunny a hard punch on the shoulder, his face set in an angry pout.

"Don't you EVER do that again," he shouted "what was that anyway?"

"I-I don't kn-know," Bunny answered in a broken sob "I was here, th-then I wasn't…and I was c-cold, and…I…I was…I was so cold and sc-scared…you were all…g-gone…and I was al-alone…Oh God, I was s-s-so scared."

Using both hands to clamp his mouth shut against the sobs threatening to overtake him, the former Pooka shook and jerked with every hitch that wracked his frame, fighting for all he was worth not to give in to the urge to have a second huge meltdown in the same day. North however could sense how distraught the teen was, and merely leant down, wrapping his large arms around his old friend.

"We are still here Bunny," he murmured comfortingly "and so are you, you are not alone, and we won't ever leave you."

At those words, the walls crumbled, and Aster clenched his eyes shut as hot tears squeezed out from between his eyes. Hands gripping his hair, he allowed himself to lean into Santa's hug, but not fully give himself up to the embrace. His breath coming in erratic bursts, the rabbit turned teen boy cast tear filled emerald eyes up at Father Christmas.

"W-what," he gasped as if in pain "what is happening to me?"

**Well…What do ya think of THAT plot twist? Anyone have any ideas of what might be happening to our poor Bunny?**

**Once again, read and REVIEW we are at 651, and I know that if you guys try really hard, you can make it to 700! So get REVIEWING PEOPLE!**


	35. Human Bunny4

**Kayciarika- No I certainly don't mind you leaving a review every chapter, and please continue to do so! LOL**

**Riz- Yeah, my parents are expert pranksters, so scaring my mom would result in an epic prank war against both my parents that I would surely lose…LOL Now Riz, please control yur inner fangirl, I have a strict rule, and if she goes rabid on us I will have to give you a shot. LOL Glad you are such a dedicated reviewer, and I love the fact you always write such LONG reviews! I adore long reviews, they make me happy.**

**Also, I am working on the mother's day tribute as we speak ;-)**

**Night-fury1- Everything is Pitch's fault…LOLOL**

**Lovepuppy- The fluffies will come back! I will bring them back! Somehow…. LOL Yes, they need to learn how to play together before they can help each other LOL. Cannot wait to read that chapter, please let me know when you write it!**

**Inhumane side- thank you for the kind words, and I will try, but I cannot guarantee that I can stay awesome as that is a very big shoe to fill LOL You were partly right, because remember, Bunny had to remind himself that they were real and who he was, so it is a very scary moment for poor Bunny.**

**Myheartsdesire- THANK YOU! I have really been trying to put my heart and soul into these angst scenes, and I don't want to make Bunny too weepy…LOL **

**Feastofdeath- thank you for the reviews, and glad you approve of the plot twist!**

**Who's ready for some more Human Bunny?**

**Ok girls…stop swooning…you're making my keyboard all slobbery…**

"What is happening to me?"

The question rang in North's mind as he studied in his personal library, searching for a clue as to why Bunny could not see them or the workshop for that small space of time. He had an idea, but he hoped he was wrong, because if he wasn't they only had a small amount of time before they could change the Pooka back to his normal self. Burying his face into his hands, the normally jolly man breathed a heavy sigh over the rabbit he had known for centuries, praying that somehow everything would turn out well and that they would not have to face the terrifying that could very well be looming ahead for his friend.

…..

Bunny sat alone at the table in the kitchen, his head resting on his arms, his eyes narrowed with thought. He couldn't explain what had happened that day, but for some reason he felt like a radio going in and out of range, unable to pick up a signal. One minute he was celebrating his victory with the popsicle, and then he was alone in a freezing cold cave, in the middle of the North Pole. What could possibly explain what had occurred? He didn't know, all he did know was that he was scared, for his present and his future. Suddenly a creak sounded behind him, and the former Pooka whirled around to face Jack, who was standing behind him holding a plate of cupcakes, his features set in a gentle smile one would use when trying to coax a frightened child to trust. Walking forward, the boy sat next to Bunny, and set a cupcake in front of him. Aster gave the cupcake a suspicious look, then hesitantly picked it up, and bit into it.

Emerald eyes closed in rapture "Carrot cake with cream cheese frosting" the youth sighed happily.

"Yep," Jack chirped as he picked up his own cupcake "I made them myself yesterday, and thought you would like one."

"When did ya learn how to cook?" Bunny asked in between bites of cupcake.

"Just this past year," the sprite replied licking all the frosting off the cupcake before biting into it "Phil has been teaching me how so that they can try to convince the elves to stop trying."

Aster let out a laugh, and then flicked Jack on the forehead with his finger "Don't lick all the frosting off ya dummy," he chuckled "yer ruinin' the experience of a proper carrot cupcake."

"I can eat it any way I want," Jack said with an indignant sniff "so stop bossing me around on how to eat the cupcake that I made."

"Yer so childish," Bunny sighed as he reached for another cupcake "Ya should act more yer age."

"Yeah," the pale boy scoffed "so says the guy who is actually a kid, but acts like an old man."

"I do not," Bunny squawked "and stop callin' me a kid!"

Jack gave the former Pooka a mischievous grin before bringing another cupcake up to his mouth and slowly licking all the frosting off. Aster rolled his eyes, and returned to his midnight snack, licking his fingertips and smacking his lips. Standing up, the teen ruffled Jack's head, and then walked out of the room.

"Thanks for the snack mate," he called over his shoulder.

Jogging up the steps, the youth ran to his room, changed into a black tank top and grey shorts, and collapsed on the bed his gaze pensive as he examined the ceiling his mind reeling with questions and worries. Chewing on his bottom lip, the boy reached for the pack he had brought with him from the lake, and pulled out his sketchbook and some pencils. Drawing always soothed him, especially when he was nervous or scared, and he was definitely both of those at the moment. Leaning up onto the headboard, Bunny braced the pad of paper against one leg, and began to sketch out the frozen tundra spreading out beyond his window. His chest clinched tighter and tighter as thoughts tumbled through his mind, causing his hand to shake, and his mouth to go dry. Would he ever return to his original state, or would he stay in a human form forever?

"Look at the big brave bunny rabbit," a voice whispered from the dark "you seem rather pathetic if you asked me."

"Well I didn't Pitch," Aster snarled immediately leaping to his feet "and ya can keep yer opinions to yerself, ya coward."

"Strong words, for one so weak, and…helpless."

A shadow skittered across the floor barely grazing Aster's toes causing him to give a small yelp and leap back onto his bed. Casting an angry glare across the room, the former Pooka growled "I'm not weak, I may be in human form, but that doesn't make me helpless!"

"Oh, you are so much more than just in human form," the Boogeyman hissed as he melted out of the shadows with a happy grin "and you are helpless, you know it, especially after today."

Aster jerked back as if he had been slapped, his hands clenching into fists "What," he snarled "have you done to me?"

"Oh, let's see," the dark specter cackled gleefully "I turned you more than just into human form, I turned you human completely."

"Wait…What?!" Bunny gasped.

"You see Aster," Pitch sighed "I almost got rid of all of you by destroying dreams, but people can still dream if they have hope, thus why dear little Sandman is back among us. But you, if I got rid of hope, what then? The world would truly fall apart, for without hope, nothing is attainable."

"Sick as your plan is, and annoying that it has to involve me," Bunny ground out between gritted teeth "it doesn't explain why I went through Jack, or why I couldn't see the workshop."

"Hmm…" Pitch tapped a finger on his chin as he pondered whether or not to tell before finally giving a shrug "Alright, I'll tell."

Clasping his hands behind his back, the Boogeyman slowly wandered over to the bed, his eyes alight as he began to divulge the secret behind why the incident earlier in the day had occurred "Well," he began "technically you are still on the cusp of childhood. Ask any adult, true adulthood does not begin until at least twenty-one. At eighteen, you are still naïve and ignorant about how the world actually works, and so you still have a semblance of childhood belief left inside. In everyone's life, there is an awkward time between nineteen and twenty-one, and that is when change begins. When you start learning about adulthood and must cast your childhood aside, when you throw away the useless childish beliefs, and begin to take your place in society."

"But how does that affect me being able to see-"

"The Guardians?" Pitch finished "because Aster, when a child gets past eighteen, they lose the ability to see and touch them automatically. It is as natural as breathing, and happens to everyone, you know this. Some are strong of mind, enough to withstand that change to where they can still see a small glimmer of the Guardians, even as adults. But everyone will lose their ability to see the Guardians, and spirits, eventually."

"So what does that mean for me?" Bunny asked in a low voice.

"It means, Bunny," Pitch said with an evil grin full of malice "that you have until your birthday, when your human body turns nineteen, to turn yourself back. If you do not, then you will not only lose your ability to see the Guardians, but you will lose your belief in them as well, and will have no memory of ever being the Guardian of Hope!"

Bunny felt his heart drop to his stomach as he processed the Boogeyman's words "No," he whispered in disbelief "this can't be happening."

"Oh but it is," Pitch sneered "and I suggest you get busy, because as it stands you only have a few days till your birthday."

As quickly as he had come, Pitch disappeared leaving Bunny to sit in his room, heart racing with fear and worry. How long he sat there pondering Pitch's words, Aster didn't know, but what felt like hours later a strange sound ripped the former Pooka from out of his musings. Head shooting up, Aster ran across the room, his bare feet slapping against the wood as he followed the sound out into the hallway. Cocking his head, Aster felt his chest tighten as he realized that the sound was someone crying, and it was coming from Jack's room. Hoping that Pitch had not decided to give a visit to the winter child, Bunny opened the door to find Jack thrashing on his bed, hair plastered against his forehead with sweat as he cried out in his sleep. Rushing to the bedside, Aster shook his younger brother's shoulder, green eyes staring intently at the pale face in worry. With a jolt, Jack's eyes flew open, and he sat up screaming.

"NOOOOO!"

Wild blue eyes cast their gaze around until they rested on Bunny, lunging forward, the winter child gripped a hold of Bunny's shoulders "Bunny," he gasped hoarsely "can you see me?"

"Yes," Bunny said solemnly "I can see ya."

Tears filled Jack's eyes and he stared down at his blankets in relief "Thank God," he sobbed.

"Jack," Bunny asked gently one hand grasping Jack's thin shoulder "what's wrong, did ya have a nightmare…about…today?"

"Uh…" Blue eyes grew wide and Jack recoiled as if Bunny's hand had burned him and quickly retreated to his side of the bed "It was nothing."

"You weren't screamin' over nothin' Snowflake," Aster said his head cocked to the side in confusion.

"It was just a dream," Jack said quickly.

"Must have been pretty bad," Aster retorted "if I heard ya in my room."

"Look," Jack snapped "I'm fine!"

"No yer not," Bunny said in an equally harsh tone "now tell me what's wrong!"

"You DISAPPEARED!" Jack finally shouted as he turned tear filled angry blue eyes on his older brother "I dreamed that you somehow stopped believing, without wanting to, and that we had failed you! You disappeared, and walked right through me, and us, and you didn't remember who you were, or what you've done."

Bunny sat back, his mind once again reeling. He could easily say that Jack had had a nightmare about earlier that day, but something in the boy's tone made Bunny pause, something deeper was going on here. As Jack stared up into the moon, Bunny's mouth fell slightly ajar as he watched the already azure eyes become an icy almost translucent blue, and Jack began to speak in a tone that almost seemed to old and cold for his personality.

"Four times the sun will rise, and four times it will set," he murmured absently his gaze never leaving the moon "we have until the final sunset to return things to as they should be, or darkness will fall, and hope will die."

Suddenly the boy blinked and shook his head, turning back to Bunny "What was I saying?" he asked in a confused tone.

"Somethin' about four sunrises and four sunsets," Bunny said guardedly his eyes examining Jack looking for the strange look and voice that had taken over.

"Huh?" Jack said raising one eyebrow "What are you talking about, last thing I remember was you throwing a hissy fit over me not tellin' you my dream, which I'm still not talking about by the way."

Aster leaned over, and placed a hand against Jack's forehead, causing the boy to tense in discomfort. Feeling no fever, Aster leaned back and shook his head "You are so weird, ya know that?"

"Yeeees?" Jack answered slowly "And you're creeping me out."

"That's the pot callin' the kettle black," Aster huffed before spinning around and climbing off the bed "go back ta sleep ankle biter, if ya need anythin', just yell."

"Ok," Jack snuggled back underneath his blankets as he watched Bunny leave the room.

He couldn't, and wouldn't, tell Aster that he had had a dream that he had disappeared from their lives permanently. It was hard enough watching the dream Bunny walk through him and forget who he was, he didn't want to even consider that ever becoming a reality. Burying his face into his pillow, Jack heaved a bereaved sigh, and closed his eyes. As he fell asleep, he prayed that such a thing would not happen.

Aster walked back to his room, and sat on the windowsill, his face turned towards the moon. Gritting his teeth, the newly turned human curled up into himself, hugging his knees to his chest. He prayed that night, prayed that Pitch was wrong somehow, prayed that they would find the way to turn back, and most of all…he prayed that he would keep his family and not disappear out of their lives forever.

**Ok, I know it wasn't my best, but it was an idea I had that would be a good way to explain why that thing happened, and would also be a foreshadowing of my next arc Visions. So let me know what you guys think, and REVIEW!**

**Mystichawk…where did you go? LOL I love your reviews on the Pitch scenes, and your reviews in general are always something I look forward to lol**

**We are at 582, and quite frankly I'm worried guys. LOL Either a lot of you have decided to stop reviewing as often as you used to, or ya just don't love me no more. Come on, let's see who the lucky winner of the 700****th**** review and owner of the next one shot request is!**


	36. Switcharoo

**Disclaimer: I do not own ROTG**

**Riz- Yes, we ALL want a hunk like human bunny in our lives, but for now we can dream about Bunny as a human, and how absolutely gorgeous he would be LOL And yes, I'm planning the Visions arc as we speak, and I'm getting excited about it myself *grins***

**Night-fury1- Pitch will be afraid…very afraid LOL**

**Magiccatprincess-AWWW! Thanks!**

**Kagirinai-Eternal- Yes, I made Jack psychic, which will be expounded upon in my next arc…VISIONS!**

**OK guys, the inner of the ONE SHOT GAMES is…..*drum roll* OnyxKozmotis! Congrats, and don't forget to follow the rules and send me your one shot request before we reach 800!**

**Well, I am so glad with all the positive reviews I have been managing to get, and I am VERY glad about how well everyone has enjoyed reading this drabble thus far. Well here is the switching bodies installment, I hope this goes over as well as the ones before have.**

**Also, this is sort of set apart from the other chapters. This is a different way that Bunny could have found out about Jack drowning and so on. Hope you enjoy it!**

That day had started out so normal. Yetis rushed around, elves electrocuted each other, and the guardians were all enjoying a small respite. It was the day after Easter, and the guardians of Fun, Hope, and Wonder were officially on vacation. Everything could not have been better. North was enjoying carving new ice sculptures, Bunny was curled up by the fire drinking hot chocolate and eating carrots that had been stewed with cinnamon, and even Jack was quietly reading a book up in the rafters. No one could have predicted the mess that would follow.

That was the day many would remember for the rest of their lives, because that was the day that Bunny and Jack actually agreed on something…exploring Santoff Claussen.

Believe it or not, it was Bunny who started the whole thing. Normally Jack would pull the guardian of hope along on one of his many schemes, but this time it was the Pooka who found himself staring dolefully into the flames and sighing in boredom. Now he knew that this was merely post Easter depression, much like some mothers got depressed after giving birth, he would fall into this strange little funk where he would feel bored and frustrated when suddenly faced with the fact that he had nothing to do. It was certainly a shock to one's system to be constantly and hopelessly busy for weeks on end, and then have all that work come to a screeching halt. What was a bunny to do?

And so, dealing with the boredom of suddenly being out of work the day after Easter, Aster decided to seek out a certain troublemaker and see if he could find some mode of entertainment that would distract him. In the past he had had to soldier through his post Easter depression through his own willpower, but now they had a new guardian who protected the spirit of fun. Surely Jack wouldn't be so cruel as to hold back on old Bunny when he actually wanted to have fun, right? So his mind set on finding the winter spirit, Bunny began his search. Little did he know that it was a decision he would come to regret.

Walking around the workshop, Bunny looked for the youngest guardian, his green eyes sweeping the area until he saw a pale foot swinging from a rafter. Climbing the staircase, the rabbit went to the same level where Jack was hanging out, and finally was able to see that the kid was reading a book, and seemed to be pretty addicted to it. Squinting his eyes, Bunny was able to make out the title "Artemis Fowl" on the cover of the book, and then finally called out to the child.

"Oi snowflake"

Jack didn't move, so engrossed in the book, he didn't even twitch.

"Frostbite."

Still nothing, and Bunny groaned in frustration. Leaning over the railing as far as he could, the Pooka yelled "JACK FROST!"

The winter spirit gasped as if he had just surfaced out of water, and his crystal blue eyes tore themselves from off the pages and towards the rabbit. His mouth opened as if to yell at whoever had given him the rude awakening, but upon seeing the humorous state of Bunny hanging over a railing giving him a glare that clearly said 'Entertain me', the sprite couldn't help but laugh.

"Something wrong cotton tail?"

"You could say that…" Bunny grumbled.

Jack shook his head in sympathy, to be perfectly honest he could empathize with the Pooka, now that spring had officially arrived Jack was without work. At least for the most part, there were still areas still in the full swing of winter, but for some reason that year he didn't have to work quite so hard at maintaining them. This had probably been the most stress free winter he had had in a while, which also made it the most boring. Snapping his book closed, Jack turned so that he was sitting cross legged on the rafter facing the Pooka.

"And how may I be of service?" He asked in an over exaggerated British accent.

Bunny pouted then clenched his paws into fists as he yelled out in seeming agony "I'm BOOOORED!"

A huge grin lit up the sprite's face "Really?" he asked as he leaned forward in keen interest "You really actually came all the way up here to ask me to play with you?"

"No" the rabbit replied in a snarky voice "I thought I needed the exercise and decided to stop and chat."

Jack laughed as he flew off the rafter and over to the disconsolate bunny "Well what do you want to do?"

"I don't know" Aster shrugged "something fun."

"Hmm" The winter spirit folded his hands behind his head as he leaned back and thought about what might be a good game for a guardian of Hope who had zero cold tolerance.

"I got it!" he suddenly exclaimed, almost startling the bunny off the railing "Let's explore a part of Santoff Claussen that neither of us have been to before!"

Bunny felt his ear twitch in interest. This particular game wasn't a contest, but it at least it didn't involve snow, and Jack seemed psyched about it so maybe it could be fun. North probably had multiple century's worth of treasures stashed around in the abandoned castle wings, so the thought of exploration actually made the rabbit curious. A smirk slowly grew on his face as he imagined just what kind of stuff they could find, and the rabbit finally found the strength to stand up.

"A'right Snowflake," he nodded "Sounds like a plan!"

Jack grinned and took off down the hall, a giggle echoing behind him as he flew. Bunny chuckled as he followed the sprite, both of them heading towards the mysterious sections of the castle that no one inhabited anymore.

"Come on Cotton Tail" Jack yelled "If you go any slower, I'll leave you behind!"

"Shut up Frostbite" Bunny snapped "Or I'll show you what it really means to race a rabbit!"

Jack put on the gas, another laugh lilting behind him as he raced ahead, his face firmly set towards the West Wing. Bunny followed him, his paws hitting the ground as he tucked his head under to create less wind resistance. The pair flew through the workshop, Jack whooping in unbridled glee with Bunny right behind him shouting out various insults and challenges. If North noticed their sudden camaraderie, he didn't show it, too engrossed in checking the naughty and nice list of names. Bunny raced ahead of Jack, leaping up onto a nearby wall and using it as a springboard in order to turn a corner, then ran full tilt down the next hall. The winter sprite followed him, his teeth flashing in a happy grin.

"Using walls is cheating, Cottontail!"

"And flying isn't?" Bunny scoffed "Shut yer gob, and take it like a man!"

"I'm not a man," Jack laughed "I'm a teenager, and we don't get mad, we get even!"

Raising his staff, the winter sprite cocked it like a shotgun, and aimed carefully for the wiggling white tail in front of him. With a quick zap, Jack exploded into gales of laughter at the disgruntled and surprised cry of pain from the Pooka as his tail was flash frozen, and then the teen took his opportunity to zip past. The snowy white grin only grew larger when Aster began to shout his displeasure in colorful Australian obscenities. Cracking his knuckles and rolling his shoulders so to loosen the muscles, his mouth stretched into a wide grin full of mischief, Aster's green eyes focused on the flying figure in front of him.

"Oh it's on now ya bludger!"

With a roar of renewed vigor, plus a healthy dose of intentioned revenge in honor of his poor tail, the Pooka took off down the hall. Leaping off walls, ceilings, elves and yetis Jack and Bunny raced through the workshop, heading for a lower wing that no one used any more. Jack imagined many stories about it, always wanting to go give it a visit, but never having the time to try. Now Bunny was bored, and Jack had free time on his hands, which meant that they were going to be doing a little exploring today. The large door indicating the West wing finally came into view, and Aster slowed down in a graceful skid only to stop in front of its intimidating façade. Green eyes wide with curiosity and wonder, Bunny softly touched the aged wood, his head tilting to the side as he calculated the centuries it had probably stood.

Suddenly a yelp and a long squeal of skin and material sliding along marble flooring sounded behind the Pooka, and Bunny turned just in time to see Jack having accidentally iced the floor and barreling towards him. Blue eyes big as dish plates, and mouth hanging wide as he screamed, the boy slid full speed down the hall and crashed into Bunny before the rabbit could get out of the way. The door shook, and dust flew from its grain at the crash, and the duo lay at the base of it in a tangle of arms and legs. Jack could barely breathe for the laughter currently afflicting him, and Bunny reached over to give the giggling child a firm smack across the back of the head, causing the sprite to dissolve even further into fits of laughter.

"S-sorry Bunny," the pale teen gasped as he struggled to drag himself to his feet "but that was awesome!"

"Says you," Bunny huffed though a glint of amusement shone in his eyes when he turned to face Jack "though I'll never forget how you looked like a wall-eyed bass as you skidded across the floor!"

"Hey!" the winter spirit gave an indignant squawk as he gave a playful punch to Bunny's bicep "I did _not_ look like a fish, especially one as ugly as that!"

"Yes ya did," Aster guffawed as he imitated the look on Jack's face from the incident "yer eyes were all bugged out, and ya were screaming like a girl!"

"Was not," Jack pouted as he stuck his tongue out.

"Whateva' ya brat," Bunny chuckled as he turned back to the door "so how's about we open this here door," the rabbit turned around and made his voice low and spooky "and see what lays beyond, eh?"

Jack gave a wide grin "YES!"

Bracing his paws against the eroded wood, Bunny gave a small grunt and then pushed, Jack standing behind him in slack jawed wonder. The doors creaked open, cobwebs falling and splitting as they separated, and Jack slowly clapped in impressed awe at the strength the Pooka demonstrated. Aster turned around with a smirk, and flexed his muscles like a body guilder, while Jack hooted and cheered until both doubled over laughing. Reaching over to ruffle the white head currently bobbing as the boy gasped for air, Aster walked through the doorway, only to once again stop his own face becoming slack in shock.

Jack joined him, and soon both were staring in wide eyed shock at the room that lay before them. It looked like a grand neo-gothic library that had various shelves also covered in items and brick-a-brack of all sorts. Within the giant room lay doors of all kinds, leading into separate rooms, each door labeled with a golden label. In its glory day, the wing would have been magnificent as it was lit by the flickering glow of torches, but in its current state, it was covered in cobwebs lit only by moonlight. Slowly walking forward, the duo smiled as they beheld the wealth of treasures lining the walls. Aster and Jack looked at each other, their smiles spreading to wide grins, and they immediately burst forward both running down the shelves occasionally hopping up and down to get a look at items placed higher than eye level.

"Hey Snowflake," Bunny cried waiting for Jack to give him his attention "look at this!"

The winter sprite turned around, his face lighting up as he let out a large guffaw of laughter. Bunny had dressed himself in feudal Japanese Samurai armor, and was holding out a katana at shoulder level, his face split in a wide grin. Jack bounced over, his own features wreathed with a large smile.

"That," he burst out "is SO cool!"

"I know, right?" Bunny whispered in ecstatic glee "I'm a samurai!"

Swishing the sword around, Bunny played warrior while Jack giggled and continued his own exploration when a door suddenly caught his attention "Hey Bunny," the boy called in a voice distracted by the object of his fascination.

"What," Bunny replied whirling around to face Jack, his movement causing the helmet to slip down past his nose "did ya find a ninja outfit? Cause if ya did, then I call first dibs of tryin' it on, seniority rules and all that."

"Nope," Jack smiled maliciously "I think I found something much cooler."

"Somethin' cooler than a ninja outfit?" Bunny's ears twitched in interest "that's somethin' I gotta see."

Hopping over to where Jack stood, the boys found themselves sharing evil smiles full of mischief. The door itself was unremarkable, but the golden plate on it was engraved with the label 'Inventions', and that alone made their fingers twitch to open it. Only one more glance at each other made them make the decision, and both lunged forward, opening the door and crashing through the threshold. Once again they found themselves in a room full of unidentifiable objects, each one unfinished, or in pieces with cobwebs covering the blueprints. Walking within, the two allowed their gazes to rove the shelves and tables covered in mechanical pieces. Leaning close to a statue, Bunny murmured absently to Jack, whom was inspecting a robot.

"Oi Snowflake," the rabbit said softly "what do ya know about this place?"

"Not much," Jack shrugged as he put the robot down and moved on to the next item abandoned by its maker "only that North said he never comes back here anymore, and that he would rather I not come back here either. Every time I asked him about it, North got all quiet, and then would say that there was a reason he left this wing behind."

"I wonder," Aster murmured when suddenly his attention was drawn to something shiney…and egg shaped.

It was a golden egg covered with five gems decorating it. On its four sides were a sapphire, topaz, emerald, and ruby. While on top, was a large chunk of rainbow hued Alexandrite, glimmering with an unseen light. Green eyes lit up, and Bunny heard a long "Ooooooh!" slip from his lips.

Jack heard the sound, and quickly hurried to Bunny's side "Heeeey" he gasped "SHINY….What's it do?"

"Why do ya think it does something?" Bunny asked.

"Becaaaauuuuse…" Jack answered slowly "It's in the _inventions_ room?"

Bunny gave a nod "Good point"

"Look at the size of those gem stones," Jack gasped as he reached forward to touch the emerald.

Bunny ran a thumb over the sapphire, and suddenly a burst of light grew from the egg and blasted outward casting the two to fling apart. Hitting the walls with a large crash, the duo slumped to the ground, until they slowly came around with small groans. Looking up at each other, both felt their jaws drop as they looked down, and back up once again. Aster's chin wobbled as he struggled to form words, but it wasn't Aster, it was Jack stuck in Aster's body. And across the room in the winter spirit's body lay the Easter Bunny, his own mouth hanging open in a comical face of shock and disbelief.

Aster gasped for air as he processed his current predicament "Oh. My…"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Jack screamed.

The boy now in the Pooka's body jumped to his feet only to trip over them and fall to the floor. Slowly coming to a stand, Jack shuffled over to his body and grabbed Aster by his now pale thin shoulders and lifted him off the ground "Wha-What do we do?!"

"How should I know?!" Aster screamed in a shrill voice causing Jack to lean back in pain.

"Don't shriek like that," Jack muttered "your hearing is better than I thought, and that hurts."

Giving a huff, Jack set Aster back on his feet, suddenly looking himself up and down "Have I always been so short?"

Bunny sighed giving a sarcastic roll of his eyes "Yes, yer short, and add weak ta that assessment, seriously kid ya need to lift weights…or something."

Jack shuddered "It is so wrong that that accent is coming out of my mouth."

"And it is so wrong that my finely toned body is being used by a brainless kid!" Aster muttered.

"Hey!" Jack shouted "I'm not the one who picked up the golden egg!"

"Nah, but ya were the one who was all 'OOOH SHINEY' and just had ta touch it!" Bunny snarled back.

"Whatever," Jack huffed "North created this thing, so it's logical he would know how to reverse this."

"For once," Bunny exclaimed "a good idea."

Stomping over to where the golden egg had fallen, Aster bent over and scooped it up from the ground, and then stomped out of the room. Jack felt his jaw drop as he saw Bunny walk off without his staff, and ran over to grab it and chase after the Easter Bunny.

"Bunny!" he yelled "you forgot my staff!"

"Oh for…" Aster sighed "what is so important about yer stupid staff anyways?"

"It's more important than you think!" Jack growled.

"Well then," the bunny turned winter spirit huffed "hand it over."

Suddenly Jack found himself unable to let go of his staff, even though he couldn't use it in Bunny's body, he was still bonded to the piece of wood. But a cough from his body reminded him that Aster would need it if he wanted to fly, and so with a great deal of hesitation, Jack tossed his staff to Bunny. Aster caught it, his face suddenly growing slack as he felt the bond with the staff renew and spirals of ice once again cling to its grain.

"Wow," he breathed with a small laugh "I-I never knew."

"Yeah," Jack sighed "just don't let it get hurt."

"Why?" the question was asked without a trace of sarcasm but rather in genuine interest.

"Because," Jack answered with discomfort "let's just say you'll know if it does."

"How?"

"Because," the winter Pooka burst out "it will hurt…A LOT!"

Aster blinked "…oh…"

Jack groaned and walked past Bunny, slightly tumbling forward when he tripped but caught himself and fought his way back to the entrance. After what felt like hours, Jack and Bunny finally found their way back to North's office, the two bursting through the door, and causing yet another of North's creations fell to the floor in shattered pieces. Giving an indignant squawk, North whirled around and wildly gestured at the ice sculpture, his face angry, and sad.

"Must you burst in without knocking?" the large man shouted.

"We've got bigger problems, mate," Bunny growled.

North jerked back, his face screwing up into a look of confusion "Jaaack?" he asked slowly.

"Nope," Bunny sighed "It's Aster, he's Jack"

North looked back and forth between the two before collapsing into a round of giggles and chortles "You…" he snorted while moving his two index fingers back and forth across each other "you two…switched bodies? How?"

"With this thingammie!" Aster sighed in exasperation as he all but threw down the golden egg onto North's desk.

"Oh….oh no…" North gasped "this could be bad."

"WHAT?!" came the unanimous reply.

"It is unfinished," the large man shrugged "I never got had chance to complete."

"But ya can, right?" Aster asked.

North shrugged, his head bobbing as he mentally calculated the chances "….Maybe…"

"Oh Manny," Bunny sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose with pale fingers.

"Look," North attempted to console "I will get back to work on it, and see if I can fix. Till then, you just wait, and find something to…kill time."

"Kill time," Jack moaned "right."

….

North examined the egg after Jack and Bunny left his office, turning it over in his hands. It was a project he was working on when he was living in the West Wing studying under Ombric the sorcerer. It was something they had both begun, Ombric being the one who drew the blueprints and chose the gems, claiming that it would come in handy in the future. North didn't know what it meant then, and had labeled it as unfinished since it had never done anything even remotely useful, or anything at all for that matter. So he had forgotten all about it. But now as he thought about it, the gems almost seemed to correspond with the Guardians. Turning it over again, he read the inscription carved on the bottom in the neat cursive of his old teacher.

_See through another's eyes_

_And understand their pain_

_Only when the clouds have cleared_

_Will you be true once again_

North shrugged, well, if it was something that could only be fixed by them coming to understand each other then he would let them be and see what happens.

**BTW I am going to be posting the second part to this VERY soon… Like within 24 hours…**


	37. Switcharoo2

**Well, here is the SECOND INSTALLMENT of Switcharoo…if you have not read the first, then please go back to the previous chapter. ENJOY!**

_He could see them, blurry dead faces staring up from shallow graves while tendrils of fire reached for the sky, consuming everything it touched. Screams cut through the night air and the wind smelt of blood and decaying flesh. Jack ran in the midst of it all, his breath coming in short gasps, sprinting towards an unknown destination. Finally, after sprinting over countless fields and meadows, the boy came to a home built half in the ground, and half out of it. Grass covering its roof, and a tree growing from the side, and the house was wreathed in flame. _

"_NO!" Jack screamed._

_Running forward, he tried to enter the house to save the people trapped inside, but the building collapsed, bringing the hillside with it. Jack fell to his knees, screaming in anguish, his heart feeling like it had been torn in two from the pain of losing the ones within the house. His eyes rising to look around, the boy gazed on the entire terrain, everything that the eye could see, only to see it covered in flame and the bodies of the dead._

Jack jolted awake, aware of the tears covering his face, and quickly sat up. Swiping the wetness from his cheeks, Jack remembered that he was currently stuck in Bunny's body, and let out a groan of aggravated impatience. Fighting the urge to bury his head back into the pillow he had fallen asleep on, Jack registered a rumbling in his stomach, and decided that feeding his new form would be a good idea. Heading down to the kitchens, the winter spirit turned Pooka gave a shudder at the memory of the horrible nightmare he had seen. He didn't know who those dead faces were, but he was almost sure that they looked like…rabbits. Giving a shrug, the boy nudged the kitchen door open, only to stop and gape at the sight in front of him. Aster, in Jack's body of course, was sitting at the table eating a huge sandwich with a side of salad and a large glass of milk.

"What," Jack began each word building in volume "are you doing?!"

"What's it look like," Bunny answered around a large bite of sandwich "I'm eating."

"No, nononononono!" Jack groaned "You can't!"

"Why?" Bunny asked incredulously "I woke up in the middle of the night with my stomach feeling like it was goin' ta rip into shreds, it was either eat, or spend the rest of the night in pain."

"You're supposed to ignore it," Jack growled "it usually leaves by morning!"

"Wait…what?" Bunny coughed "Is that what you do, ignore your stomach?"

Jack jerked back as if slapped "Well….yeah…" he answered uncomfortably.

"Frostbite…" Aster said as he slowly chewed "when was the last time ya ate?"

"I don't know," Jack answered shrugging his now broad shoulders.

Aster stood, his pale face angry and suspicious "That ain't an answer Snowflake, and ya know it."

"I don't know," Jack growled casting ashamed eyes at the floor.

"Jack, gimme a straight answer, and I mean now!"

The winter Pooka ground his teeth together, and finally pinned his body with a glare "I honestly don't remember, because I don't eat."

"W-what?" Aster stammered as his pale features went slack in shock.

"I said," Jack ground out in angry tones "I. Don't. EAT!"

"Sure ya do," Bunny shrugged thin shoulders "I see ya eating candy, and I've seen ya eat cookies."

"Yeah," the winter spirit turned Pooka growled sarcastically "small stuff, but I don't, I CAN'T eat anything bigger than that!"

"Why?" Aster asked but his question was soon answered.

Blue eyes widened and his face screwed into a harsh wince of pain while one pale hand clutched his stomach. Jack felt his long ears drop in apprehension, and his breath hitched as he felt fear clench in his chest for what he knew was assuredly coming next. Rushing over to his body, his grabbed Bunny, ignoring the weak complaints, and ran out the back door of the kitchens and dropped Aster into a snow bank. Before the former Pooka could start yelling, he doubled over, and began to violently retch up his meal. His shoulders trembled as he jerked and his stomach convulsed as it struggled to rid itself of its contents. Jack merely sat there, awkwardly patting Bunny's back, wincing with each gurgle and pained groan.

Finally after what felt like an eternity, Bunny lay weakly shivering in the snow, and Jack dug up some snow and piled it on top of the pale body. Aster groaned as he once again clutched his abdomen, and curled into himself in the fetal position.

"Wha-what happened?" he croaked.

"I CAN'T eat Aster," Jack groaned miserably "I lived in a time where we didn't have a lot of food, though I didn't know that until a few years ago, and for the past three hundred years I haven't had a lot to eat. I have gone hungry, eating what I could find in the trash, for the past three centuries. Because of that my stomach has shrunk and I can't eat a lot of food, otherwise, this happens."

"I…." but suddenly Bunny found he didn't have the words to sum up how he was feeling.

How do you tell someone that you were sorry that you ignored them, let them starve, left them in the cold and abandoned them to live in complete solitude? The Easter spirit finally settled with just staring into the snow in a dejected silence loaded with guilt. An awkward silence drawing out until Aster gave a cough, and looked back up at Jack who in his current form was shaking in violent trembles, his teeth clattering together from the cold.

"Oi, Snowflake," Aster said softly "ya better go inside, yer gonna freeze my ears off."

"But…" Jack said hesitantly.

"I'll be fine," Aster reassured "just get inside."

"Fine," the boy finally acquiesced "just stay out in the snow for a while, it will make you feel better."

"Yeah," Bunny nodded as he felt his eyes droop "I never knew snow was so soft."

With a small smile, Jack nodded and ran into the castle to warm his feet by the fire.

….

_He couldn't get out…._

_He swam, desperately trying to remember which way was up, desperately trying to find air. His lungs already had burst into flame, and he felt his chest hitch as he choked, hoping against hope that he could hold on for just a moment longer. Finally he found the top, but all his pale hands came in contact with was ice, ice, and more ice. Pounding against the cold unbreakable surface, Bunny screamed out, fear enveloping him and soon so did darkness. Floating away, Bunny felt icy cold water fill his mouth and lungs, and as his body writhed and convulsed in the frigid lake, he felt his life slowly slip away._

Aster bolted upright, a scream issuing from his mouth, mingling with the howling winds of the tundra. Suddenly he felt very cold and insecure, and the former rabbit could only draw his legs up to his chest, and hug his knees. A tear clung to his lashes, and then dripped down, freezing on his cheek, and the rabbit gave a shiver from the nightmare. He couldn't be sure, but that dream felt a little too real for his liking. Standing up, the former rabbit slowly walked into the workshop, relieved to feel that his stomach had settled down and was no longer begging for food, or trying to turn itself inside out. Walking through the kitchens just long enough to grab Jack's staff, Aster made his way to the sitting room, only to give a small laugh at the sight that greeted him. Jack lay all curled up on his side, one foot twitching while he dreamed, and soft snores emanating from his unconscious form. Walking over, Bunny sat down next to him, and scratched a spot behind the ears that he knew would yield results.

Jack woke to a feeling more delicious than anything in the world, and gave a soft sigh of contentment as he opened his eyes. "Bunny?" he asked as he jolted at the sight of his body.

"Hello, mate," Aster chuckled "have a nice nap?"

"Kind of," Jack yawned clearly wanting to go back to sleep "but I keep having these weird dreams, and honestly they're freaking me out."

Bunny felt his chest clinch "Dreams? About what?"

Jack sucked in a shaky breath "Well, I keep seeing a village on fire and I also see…bodies, hundreds of d-dead bodies…"

Jack recounted his dream with Aster's face becoming more and more shocked, tears building in his eyes as he watched Jack tell his deepest secret. "Stop," Aster finally whispered in anguish "please stop."

Jack looked down, and saw Bunny trying hard not to crawl up in a ball and cry "Bunny," he asked softly "what was that dream?"

"It was my home," Aster said in a choked voice "a long time ago, before I was ever a guardian, I lived on a different planet with my kind. We were attacked, and before I knew it, everyone was gone. My whole planet, my home, all my kin and my friends…dead. I'm all that's left."

Jack felt a palpable wave of sorrow envelope him as understanding flooded his mind. Bunny knew what it was like to be alone, to live for centuries without a family, and no one to feel close to. Jack never understood before now just how alike they really were. Suddenly Bunny gave a hollow laugh.

"Ya know," he said softly "I've been havin' dreams too, about being trapped under the ice, and drownin'. Care to elaborate Snowflake?"

Jack shuffled uncomfortably until he too was in a similar position as Bunny, hugging his knees to his chest, Jack stared into the flames and spoke about his own personal nightmare "That's how I died," he finally sighed "when I was human I went skating with my younger sister, and saved her from falling into the ice, but in the end I was the one who fell in. My life in exchange for hers I guess. That was when MiM brought me back, and made me Jack Frost, even though I lost my memories."

Bunny nodded in understanding, finally knowing why the boy avoided water that wasn't frozen, and why he was so flighty. Not only had he endured centuries of being alone, but the kid was forced to endure having to relive how he died, surely that wasn't the easiest thing to experience. Looking over to Jack, Bunny heaved a sigh.

"I'm sorry Jackie," he murmured "I haven't been fair ta ya, and ta be honest, I haven't been that good of a big brother ta ya either."

"Brother?" Jack asked.

"Yeah," Aster chuckled awkwardly "what else do ya think we are? As soon as ya became a Guardian, for better or for worse, ya became a part of our family and I should have let ya know that from the very beginnin'."

Jack smiled as warmth burst inside his chest "Bunny," he began softly "I'm sorry too, I always thought you were this overly grumpy kangaroo who was stuck on himself, I didn't realize it was because you had gotten used to being alone…like I did."

Aster nodded, and soon the pair realized that nothing more needed to be said. Both had apologized, and both had come to a deeper understanding of the other. Sidling closer to Jack, Aster rested his back against Jack's furry side, allowing his head to droop onto the muscular bicep. Jack also felt his eyes drift shut, and soon both were asleep. As their snores drifted skywards, a glow surrounded their bodies, enveloping them in its warm light.

The next morning, the two woke up to the sounds of giggling and a camera shutter snapping. Sitting up, Aster rubbed his eyes only to see Tooth happily giggling as Sandy took pictures.

"You were so cute!" Tooth squealed "You were all snuggled up, and sound asleep, it was just SO adorable!"

"Aw shad'dup," Jack mumbled.

Bunny looked down, and felt his heart leap with joy when he realized the boy was back in his proper state. Reaching over, Bunny shook the boy roughly, a wide grin painting his features "Jackie," he urged "Jack wake up!"

"Five more minutes," the youth mumbled snuggling back against Bunny's downy fur and giving a sweet sigh.

"Oi Frostbite!" Bunny tried once again "Brain freeze!"

A few muttered incoherent words were all that greeted the rabbit, and Bunny finally leaned down to bellow in Jack's ear "JACK FROST!"

"WHAT?!" Jack finally yelled popping up to cast a sleepy glare at the Pooka.

Bunny just smiled, and wiggled his eyebrows, gesturing down at himself "Huh, huh?"

It took a minute but finally Jack felt a huge grin wreath itself across his face "We're back!"

"Back?" Tooth murmured and looked at Sandy who merely shrugged his shoulders "Back where?"

"I have my own body back!" Aster whooped with a ecstatic leap.

"I can fly again!" Jack crowed as he zipped around the workshop, staff well in hand.

"It must have worn off or somethin'." Aster babbled excitedly.

"Yeah!" the winter spirit agreed "that has to be it!"

"It is not!" North bellowed as he walked down the stairs to join the group "you merely met requirements on the egg."

"Requirements?" both boys wondered aloud.

"_See through another's eyes_

_And understand their pain_

_Only when the clouds have cleared_

_Will you be true once again"_

When North finished reciting, Bunny and Jack looked at each other and gave a secret smile, yeah they had come to a better understanding of each other. Now they could say that they were more than just friends, they were brothers and they had each other's back. Tooth looked around in confusion.

"Wait," she said "am I correct in thinking that Bunny and Jack had somehow switched bodies?"

"Yeah," Aster laughed "and let me tell you, it was not pretty."

"But how?" the fairy wondered.

"With this!" North said proudly presenting the Golden gem covered egg.

"Wow!" Tooth exclaimed "SHINY!"

Suddenly she and Sandy both reached forward to touch it, with Jack and Bunny screaming for them to stop. All the commotion was interrupted by a large explosion, and the group picked themselves off the floor, and gazed on each other.

"My goodness," North sighed…or actually Toothiana sighed, as she/he slowly stood "What happened?"

Looking down, she/he began to scream "I…I'm in North's body!"

Sandy, maybe, began rushing around his arms waving as he made Sand write in sloppy pictures "I'm North, and I can't talk!"

Toothiana's body slowly hovered in midair, and a maniacal grin lit her face "I can talk," Sandy in the fairy's body said "and do I have a lot to say!"

"Ohhh crikey," Bunny moaned slapping his forehead with a paw.

"You said it pal," Jack nodded.

Neither wanted to imagine what mess lay in store for them with THIS lot.

**Wow…Can't believe I managed to write all that. Well, I will be writing the one shot request next and then I will be returning to Human Bunny. Any thoughts, ideas, or requests for Human Bunny, or even ideas on how they can turn him back, feel free to put those in the review. I love hearing opinions and ideas, they make my creative juices flow.**

**So come on, REVIEW!**


	38. Valentimes

**OK! This is the request from OnyxKozmotis, who I will admit originally wanted a ToothxJack piece, but because I'm a weirdo and a freak, I just can't bring myself to do it because I still Tooth more as a mother figure, so we came to an agreement that I would write a romance piece with a bit of brotherly fluff and I would just create an OC… Hope you like!**

**No, I do not own ROTG…**

Jack flew through the air, his mind abuzz with plans and hopes, so distracted was he in fact that he didn't see the tree in front of him. With a resounding smack, the poor boy ran straight into the tree branch only to bounce directly to the ground. Bunny, had been sitting under the tree, awaiting Jack's arrival. His fuzzy face contorted into a wince as he watched Jack splat into a large bank of snow, and then slowly strode over, his ears perked up in interest. The winter spirit slowly picked himself up out of the snow, one hand rubbing his head, and his teeth clenched in a grimace of pain. Aster smirked, then leaned down, stretching out a paw.

"Need a hand Frostbite," he teased "or is it a habit a yers ta go running smack dab inta trees?"

Jack glared up at the rabbit before grabbing a hold of his paw "I'm fine, thanks, and no it isn't something I enjoy doing."

Aster gave a fond chuckle, pulling Jack to his feet, and steering the boy over to a makeshift campsite he had constructed complete with a fire and a couple chairs "So ya called me down here, and I'm freezing my tail off, so what do ya need ta talk about?"

"Oh…uh" Jack immediately shut down, his face looking down at the snow and a dark blue tinge flushing his cheeks "Well…"

Bunny leaned down in interest, one eyebrow raised as he inspected the blush covering the youngest Guardian's cheeks "Ok," he said with a barely restrained laugh "now I'm interested, anything that's got ya stammering has got ta be worth my time."

"Bunny," Jack pouted "if you aren't going to be serious, then I won't tell you."

The winter sprite bent his knees, preparing to launch himself into the sky, but Bunny immediately placed a paw on his shoulder "Oi," he said softly "I was just teasin', so don't get all riled, I promise ta take ya serious."

Calculating blue eyes examined his friend searching for an ulterior motive before walking over to a chair by the fire with a huff "Fine."

Aster sighed and then took a seat next to the kid waiting for him to talk, sure enough Jack eventually broke the silence with a small voice accompanied by bashful eyes staring at the ground "Um, Bunny?"

"Yeah?"

"What…" Jack bit his lip, then pulling his hood over his head so he didn't have to look at the Pooka, quickly plowed on "what do you know about giving a Valentine…to a g-girl?"

Bunny, who had been sipping from a thermos full of hot tea, promptly choked on said beverage and sat there coughing and hacking while the pale spirit grew steadily smaller and smaller in his seat "Wha-What?!"

"I know you heard me Kangaroo," Jack muttered from within the depths of his hood "don't make me repeat myself."

"Uh…ok," Bunny tapped the thermos with one paw uncomfortably as he stared into the flames as if they held the answer to his problem "I know a little bit…from when I was courtin' girls…why do ya want ta know?"

"Well…" Pale hands pulled the hood even further down and thin legs came up to be hugged against his chest "I kind of…met someone…and I want to…give her a valentine."

"Ohhhh," Bunny drawled as understanding lit his features "I get it, you've made yerself a friend and want to give her somethin' for Valentine's day this weekend."

Jack mumbled something into his knees causing Bunny to lean forward, his face scrunched in concentration "What ya say snowflake?"

Jack sighed "I said that we aren't…friends yet."

Bunny cocked his head in confusion "But you _have_ talked to her, right?"

Another sigh resounded from the blue hood, and Bunny watched as the material gently shook back in a 'No'.

"A'right Frostbite," the rabbit said as he settled back in his chair "ya better start from the beginnin', and tell me who this Sheila is."

Jack gave a nervous chuckle and then took a deep breath, somehow impossibly shrinking even smaller in his seat "Well," he began "she's the spirit shepherd of the winds, and I've known about her since about two hundred years ago."

"Yeah?" Aster encourage gently "How'd ya meet her?"

"North wind has always been my friend," Jack said softly "and I was…feeling lonely…and all of a sudden North wind kind of just picked me up and took me to the edge of a cliff."

Bunny leaned over, bracing an elbow on the arm of the chair and resting his chin on his fist, listening to the tale being told by his younger brother "And then," Jack continued "There she was."

"It was…" The winter spirit bit his lip searching for the right words "she was beautiful, because there she was standing in the snow as if it weren't a problem, and she was singing into the wind. She has black hair with silver streaks, and silver eyes that can see the wind. It's amazing, because she dances with the winds, and they go along with her."

"And ya fell, just like that," Bunny chuckled.

Jack peeked up, looking for the usual sarcasm and cynicism that always accompanied the rabbit's words, but was relieved to find none "Yeah," he sighed "something like that."

"I get it Snowflake," Bunny nodded sagely "and it's nothin' ta be ashamed of, just means ya have a heart."

"Sooo…" Suddenly the pale form straightened up, and Jack looked Bunny in the eye, his own wary gaze holding a hesitant and tentative trust "you'll help me?"

Bunny pondered the prospect, and then shot a small grin to the boy "Ya can count on me, mate."

A bright smile lit the boy's face for a moment before he collected himself and turned back around to face the flames "Ok," he said in barely concealed pleasure.

"So," Bunny said popping his knuckles before placing his paws behind his head and leaning back to become more settled in his chair "What do ya need help with?"

Jack rested his chin on his knees, and pursed his lips in careful thought "What do girls like?"

"Well," Aster squinted his eyes as he thought about the question "all girls are different, some appreciate gifts because it makes 'em feel loved, while others are just happy with a card or even just a flower. Ya need to find out more about yer girl, and find out her likes and dislikes."

"North wind has told me about her," Jack said simply "I know here favorite color is purple and she loves running barefoot through meadows and streams."

"Ahhh," Aster nodded in understanding "for this girl I would say a pretty bunch of flowers, and a nice letter that she can carry in her pocket. Tell her about all the things ya admire in her, and why ya think she's special, that would be good."

"Where would I get flowers?" Jack grumped.

Bunny smiled at the tone, knowing very well that Jack knew where to find flowers, but rather than just picking them was using this as a roundabout way to get permission to go to the Warren and pick some. Tapping his chin theatrically, the Pooka heaved an overdramatic sigh, and then sent an apologetic shrug to the winter child.

"It's the wrong time of year to pick wildflowers," he said in a seemingly grieved tone "and I doubt either of us want to deprive some hardworking florist of one of their pretty prepackaged bundles, so I really don't know…unless…nah, ya wouldn't want ta do that."

"Do what?" Jack's ears pricked, his heart hammering hoping that Bunny would do what he was hoping he would and offer Jack to go to the Warren.

"Well, you could…but nah, I doubt you'd want to," Bunny crossed his arms with a well practiced look of bored indifference "never mind and forget I said anything."

"No, what were you going to say?" Jack said turning in his chair and grabbing Bunny's shoulder giving it a gentle shake.

"I said ya wouldn't care ta know, and it's probably a bad idea since there probably isn't anything she would like there, so just forget it." Aster said with a dismissive wave of his paw.

"BUNNY!" Jack groaned "Just SPIT IT OUT!"

"Ok, ok, ok," Bunny sighed as he smirked at Jack's obvious frustration over his little game "I just thought that maybe ya would want ta come down to the warren, and pick her some nice flowers and make her a nice card."

"Really?!" Jack chirped his face brightening to a thousand watt smile.

"If ya want to," Bunny shrugged "I mean I'm not gonna force ya or nothin'."

"That sounds perfect!" the winter teen stood up and began to pull Aster from his chair "Come on, let's go!"

"What, right now?" Aster teased as he acted like he was surprised at the sudden haste.

"Duuuuh!" Jack groaned "valentine's day is TODAY, so I need to hurry and get those flowers so I can catch her before the day ends!"

"Fine," Bunny laughed out loud and standing to his feet, tapping the ground twice the Pooka sent a grin to Jack "buckle up."

Jack however had no intention of buckling up, but instead expertly surfed the sides of the tunnels, sliding down them with ease "WhooooHOOO!" he whooped in joy.

Within moments the two were in the warren, and Bunny was walking Jack along one of the many pathways towards a smaller tunnel entrance which was lit up with sunlight from the inside, causing the vines over the entrance to almost glow a luminescent green. Pulling away the curtain of flowering vines, Jack walked over the threshold and felt his breath catch as his jaw dropped in amazed wonder. Thousands of flowers in neat sectioned patches grew all over an enormous cavern flooded in sunlight, everywhere the winter spirit looked he saw more and more flowers of every color and variety. Bunny grinned at the boy's slack jawed look of amazement at his 'little greenhouse'. Giving his shoulder a gentle push, the Pooka led Jack over to a large patch of carefully pruned bushes.

"Ya said the girl likes purple?" he asked as he bent down and picked up a pair of clippers.

"Y-yeah," Jack stammered still overwhelmed by the immense space and amount of flora and fauna growing within it.

"Well here ya go," Bunny handed Jack a special basket woven specifically for holding bunches of flowers "these are a special breed of rose that I've been cultivating here for their unique color, and it's difficult ta grow 'em. Luckily for you, it's healthy fer roses to be cut and clipped every once in a while, so I'm givin' ya some fer yer girl."

Jack's blue eyes became wide as dish plates as he watched Aster begin piling about twelve long stemmed purple roses into the basket, each one glistening with dew, and their bloom full and luxurious. "Thanks" the boy practically whispered in awe.

"No problem," Aster shrugged as he stood up and cracked his back "now come with me."

Almost in a zombie like trance, the winter teen followed Bunny out of his greenhouse and into the deeper reaches of the Warren, where they entered another room full of wicker baskets, unused straw waiting to be woven into a masterpiece, and ribbon. The Pooka hopped into the middle of the room, one paw's fingers drumming against his chin as he scrutinized the thousands of ribbon wheels decorating the walls, until finally running to one side of the room and jumped onto a ladder riding it as it rolled down its track around to the selection he had been looking for. Climbing up the rungs a few feet, the Pooka reached over and pulled out a long strip of purple ribbon with silver embroidery sewed in, and then expertly snipped it at a fashionable slant. Bracing his feet on either side of the ladder, Bunny slid down the ladder and hopped over to Jack, ribbon in hand.

"Here, hold up the flowers mate."

Jack fumbled with the beautiful flowers before finally holding them in a bouquet "Ok, ready."

"Wonderful," Aster murmured absently his keen artist's gaze taking in the roses as he deftly tied the ribbon around the stems and making a beautiful bow that looked like a flower itself.

Leaning back, Aster grumbled to himself "I's missin' somethin'."

"What could it possibly be missing?" Jack said with a disbelieving bark of laughter.

"Trust me, mate," Bunny muttered "it is definitely missin' somethin'."

Suddenly Bunny ran out of the room faster than Jack could follow, leaving the sprite standing in the middle of the room helplessly holding a bouquet of roses, but the rabbit returned within five minutes. With a self satisfied smirk, the Pooka expertly placed various branches of snowdrop flowers around the middle and on the sides of the bouquet. Leaning back and examining his work, Bunny gave a happy nod, and a clap of his paws.

"Yup," he practically crowed "that should it."

Jack stared at the roses, his face wide with the grin currently on it "It looks amazing!"

"Yeah," Aster nodded, one paw stroking his chin as he cast scrutinizing eyes on his work "it _is_ pretty good if I do say so myself."

"Right, so what next?" Jack asked with a face serious and determined.

"Next you write a letter tellin' yer girl why ya think she's so special, girls like compliments, but don't be so shallow as to say that ya only like her for her face, girls want ta know yer willing to look beyond just their outside." Bunny lectured.

Jack nodded, drinking up every word and committing it to memory "Right…ok…um…what do I say?"

Bunny face palmed "Tell her the reason that kept ya crushin' on her for two hundred years."

Jack suddenly blushed, and his pale toes fidgeted in the grass, making furrows in the dirt "But," he spluttered "that's so embarrassing."

"Ya like this girl?" Bunny asked waiting for Jack to nod "then get used ta bein' embarrassed, girls are wired different than boys, and they believe in wearing their hearts on their sleeves and expect men ta do the same. Girls are rarely the kind ta mess around, and waste time, they want ta know how ya feel and whether ya care. So even if it's embarrassing or uncomfortable, sometimes ya swallow yer pride, and take the plunge. Got it?"

"Yeah," Jack practically squeaked.

"Ok," Aster nodded "now go write that letter."

Jack ran to the sleeping quarters of the Warren, sitting down at the kitchen table, and working on a letter that he hoped would somehow convince this maiden of the winds to consider him as a suitor. After about two hours of agonizing over spelling, grammar, and handwriting style, the boy finally finished the letter with a triumphant grin. Looking out of the window, Jack noticed Bunny was lecturing some of the stone golems about something of seeming importance, and the winter sprite decided to take that moment to run to the bathroom and inspect his appearance.

Running pale fingers through his white hair, Jack made a face at the reflected surface, wishing that he had a comb or something to tame the unruly spikes going off in all directions. "Hey," he said with what he hoped was a charming smile "How are you doing tonight baby?"

Nah, the boy shook his head, then tilted his head and made what was supposed to be an endearing look "Are you ok? Because it must have hurt when you fell from heaven."

Jack slapped his forehead, what was he doing? Bracing his elbows on the countertop, Jack glared at his reflection, and then pursed his lips as he tried to remember the pick-up line he heard Jaime use on another girl in his high school. "You should work at KFC," he smiled dashingly the way Jaime had done "because they've been looking for legs like that for a long time!"

Jack groaned, nope, it still sounded utterly stupid, and if memory served Jaime had gotten slapped by that girl so it was probably best to avoid that particular line. Hmm, what were some others he had heard through the years? "Do you believe in love at first sight?" Jack said running his fingers through his hair the way he had seen some celebrities do "Or do I need to walk by again?"

With a hopeless moan, Jack slammed his face into the bathroom countertop, and banged it with his fist. He'd only been walking and flying past her for two hundred years, if he used that line, she would think he thought she was stupid. Suddenly a loud guffaw sounded from the bathroom, and Jack whirled around to see Bunny doubled over and stomping the ground as he laughed his head off. The winter sprite crossed his arms, and silently waited for the Pooka to regain his composure, his pale face set in an indignant pout.

"You don't have to laugh _that_ hard you know," Jack grumped.

"I…hoohoo…I can't help it…hahahah!" Bunny cackled "Yer practicin' pick-up lines!"

"Hey!" Jack defended "Jaime uses pick-up lines, and he's had a lot of girlfriends."

Aster wiped a tear of mirth from his eye "According to who?"

"Well," the sprite suddenly fell quiet "he's the one who says he has." He mumbled.

"Yeah," Bunny chuckled "never take the word of a fellow teenage boy, they are rarely true. Pick up lines have to be pretty brilliant to work, and with some girls, it's best not to even think about it."

Jack's lower lip stuck out in a pout as his plans were shattered before they even had a chance to be "So what do you suggest?" he asked in a miffed tone.

Bunny clapped a paw onto Jack's shoulder "Be yerself, and I'm sure she'll love ya."

Blue eyes met emerald, and Jack allowed a small half smile to quirk his mouth "You really think so?" he asked tremulously.

"I really do," Came the warm reply "now come on, ya need ta get those flowers ta yer girl before Valentine's day is over with."

Within the hour the duo stood on a cliff edge, and Jack felt his legs turn wobbly as he realized that this was going to be the first time he spoke to the girl he had been crushing on for two centuries "Bunny," he gasped as he suddenly whirled around "I can't do this."

"Oh here we go again," the Pooka groaned "Snowflake, don't you dare do what ya did when ya had to make up with Jaime after yer fight, now turn around and do what ya need ta do!"

"This is so much scarier than Jaime!" Jack whined "That was a fight, this is a….girl! Tell me that the two are even slightly comparable to each other."

Aster sighed then pinched the bridge of his nose "Jackie, I admit that yer right in that respect, but if ya don't do it now, then ya may never do it at all."

"But what if…" Jack bit his bottom lip "what if she doesn't like me?"

"Then she doesn't like you," Bunny shrugged "but the real question is, what if she does, and she's waitin' for ya ta ask her?"

A whine resounded from the base of Jack's throat, and he was about to argue back, but all other conversation was cut off by the appearance of the wind maiden. Bunny looked at her, nodding in understanding on why Jack would like her. She walked on the wind like she was walking on a sheet of glass, each footstep causing a ripple in the air, and spreading color everywhere. She truly was beautiful to watch dancing with the wind. Looking back to Jack, the Pooka let out a short bark of laughter at the look of sheer terror petrifying the teen to his spot. Deciding to do the kid a favor, Aster strode over to where Jack stood, picked him up by the hood…and threw him off the cliff.

Jack screamed, his arms flailing in the wind and his mind reeling at the fact Bunny had thrown him off the cliff, before he finally remembered that he could fly. North wind caught him neatly, and carried him aloft, ever closer to the girl he had spent the entire day hoping that she would agree to go for a flight around the world. Jack's chest heaved as he gave a heavy swallow of apprehension, and then drawing a deep breath, the sprite squared his shoulders and flew up to the dancing girl.

The wind maiden immediately noticed the handsome winter spirit, someone she had noticed since their first meeting two centuries ago "Hello," she said with a smile.

"He-…" Jack tried to greet her, but his voice cracked, sending him into a coughing fit.

"A-are you ok?" the girl asked with wide eyes.

"Y-yeah," Jack choked.

"Good," the girl smiled then noticed the bouquet of purple roses in his hand "Um…" suddenly she became very shy looking down and around, anywhere but at Jack before finally asking "Was there something you wanted?"

"Huh?" Jack's mind went horrifyingly blank.

"Was there something you needed?" the wind maiden repeated her silver eyes becoming troubled and nervous "Something you wanted to say? Or do?"

"Uhhh…." Jack struggled to remember what he was there to do…what was the pick-up line he had decided to use? Wait…did he even have the letter with him?

The wind maiden fidgeted nervously "Nothing?"

"Well," the winter sprite scrambled "I originally came here to talk to you…but you're so beautiful…I forgot my pick-up line."

The wind maid's face fell in shock before lighting up with the gales of laughter pouring from her smiling mouth "Oh?" she giggled "Is that all?"

"Yeah," Jack mumbled miserably "that's about the size of it."

"Well," the wind maiden suddenly sobered but not without the twinkle of humor still shining in her silver eyes "I happen to think that's very cute."

Jack's head shot up, a smile stretching his mouth and he all but shoved the flowers at the girl "Theseareforyou!" he said quickly.

The wind maiden took the roses, burying her face into the fragrant petals before sending a happy smile at the sprite "Faith," she said shyly "my name is Faith."

"Well Faith," Jack said with a small blush "would you like to go flying with me? I know a really great place in France that is pretty cool to visit."

"I would love to."

Aster smiled as he watched them fly off together, Faith clutching the bouquet and then tentatively reaching over to hold Jack's hand making the youngest Guardian blush profusely. The Pooka laughed at that then turned around and started back towards the warren, he was sure that something wonderful was probably going to bloom from this little seed known as young love. Love, like any plant, had its dry times, and problems, but if nurtured it would grow into a bloom beyond compare, and that was what Aster hoped for the Guardian of Fun, something beautiful beyond compare.

**My muse hates me this week, can't believe it was as hard as it was writing this. OnyxKozmotis, I really hope this makes up for the fact that I didn't want to do toothxjack, and I hope it is better than I think it is.**

**So we are at 763, which means that we are very close to 800, so REVIEW everyone so that I can announce the next winner with the next chapter!**

**Let's see who the Winner of the …..REVIEW GAMES!**


	39. Epikaos

**Ok…I have been reading AU's where the Guardians are human…and….I got bit by the bug! This is basically an AU where they are human, and are a singing group, with Sandy being the DJ music mixer, Tooth plays piano, Jack plays the drums, and North and Bunny both play electric guitar. They all sing, except Sandy, but Bunny is one of the main singers along with Jack. So I hope ya'll enjoy it.**

**PLEASE NOTE! The song I have them sing is not a song I made up it is called Rawkfist, and the lyrics and music are owned by its creator and singer Thousand Foot Krutch, so if you are interested in hearing the song, just go on youtube. **

**So I'm making an AU that should be mostly comedy, and a good deal of fun!**

"Ladies and gentleman, I give you the most anticipated band that has ever rocked the shores of California, the group that has big dreams and the talent to back it up, the one the only 'Epikaos'!"

Jack grinned, spinning his drumsticks in his pale hands, heart starting to beat in time with what would be their opening number. Looking down, he straightened his clothes and prepared to run onstage alongside his fellow band members. Looking over to the rest of the group, Jack allowed a small giggle to slip past his lips at the usual bickering between North and Aster their lead guitarists. They were arguing yet again over the spelling of their band's name, the full name being Epic Chaos, but Jack had shortened it to Epikaos and somehow it had stuck. Aster however had not forgiven him for it, because apparently none of the announcers at the gigs they played could ever announce them correctly, but they would handle those problems once they became famous. For now they were enjoying rocking the small time and building up their career as they went.

"Jack, are you ready to go?" Tooth, a nickname given due to her over-obsession with keeping her teeth sparkling white and lecturing anyone who did not give their teeth proper care, asked in an excited tone.

The pale sixteen year old turned to the only female member of the group, smiling at her naturally lavender eyes and her dyed multicolor hair that matched her personality so well "Oh yeah," he said while wiggling his eyebrows "I'm ready to hit the stage, and have me some fun!"

"Good!" Tooth giggled "just don't break another set of drumsticks, the last gig we played for didn't pay us much and this one needs to pay the bills, so be careful ok?"

Jack pouted, upset that he couldn't go all out "Do they have metal drumsticks out there?" he grumped.

Tooth gave a half shrug as she turned around to look in a nearby mirror and fussed with her neon green tank top and dusted off her bleached jeans "Probably, but I doubt we could afford them right now."

"Oi," an Aussie accent cut through their conversation "Let's get out there, the crowd is screamin' as it is, and if we keep 'em waitin' any longer we might end up with refunds on our hands."

"Finally!" Jack whooped to the ceiling as he raced on stage and did a small dance and a wave to his fangirls.

Aster rolled his shoulders, put on the confident smirk that drove the ladies wild, and walked out onto the stage in graceful lithe strides taking his place as the lead singer and guitarist. Tooth smiled as the screams hit a fever pitch as soon as the lean Australian went out there, and admired his look that night. A tight white t-shirt did nothing to conceal the twenty-three year old's finely toned muscles rippling over his form, and a black leather vest covered that in loose flowing waves. His slim hips and legs were covered by black jeans, and he wore stylish running shoes that made no sounds as he practically glided across the floor. His hair was black, but had natural streaks of grey running through it which actually added to the rocker mystique, add in the fact that he had bright emerald green eyes and the guy was irresistible to any female within a five block radius.

Then North walked onstage taking the place of backup singer and second guitarist, older brother to Jack and tinkerer extraordinaire, this man of roughly twenty-four years was responsible for a lot of their equipment and sound system. He was the one who fixed equipment, tuned instruments, and managed their traveling. Well to be honest, Aster was the one who managed the budget of their traveling and actually booked the events, a job which caused him no end of stress and anxiety which earned him the nickname, Bunny. North, like Aster, was also well built and muscular, his voice still maintaining its Russian accent that he had gained when him and his parents still lived in Russia before immigrating to America. Jack had been born in the states, and then their parents had died about five years later. North had been thirteen years old at the time, and somehow he and his five year old brother had survived the foster care system long enough for North to get out and gain legal guardianship of his brother. That was where the five of them had met, in the orphanage, and they couldn't imagine ever being separated from each other now.

The young man strode onstage, red shirt going taut against his muscular form, and black jean pants adorning his legs. Big black boots covered his feet, and his hair glimmered in the multicolored lights of the stage. The funny thing about Jack and North was their blonde hair that was so naturally bleached, it practically looked white, add in their bright blue eyes and they were certainly a sight to see. The last member of their crew was a rambunctious and funloving mute who literally forced them to learn sign language, which actually helped when they were in the middle of a show and needed to get a message to one of the gang, and his name was Sandy. Sandman, his nickname due to the fact that he loved taking naps as well as making anyone who made fun of his friends take one too, was their resident disc jockey. The guy was one of the most skilled DJ's Tooth had ever seen, and literally made the music his voice box, using the mixing board to speak for him when he wanted to make an impression. Granted, they were talented without a resident disc jockey, but with Sandy's magic touch, they were spectacular. He was average height with dusty blonde hair the color of golden corn, and bright hazel eyes that shifted colors with his mood. He enjoyed wearing shimmery gold clothes or anything bright for that matter, because when the lights hit him as he did his job as DJ, he would almost glow like an ethereal spirit, and it made the music board look amazing.

Last but not least, Tooth walked onstage, pumping the air with one fist as she did a dramatic bow, finishing it up by doing a rocker hand sign accompanied by sticking her tongue out and winking at the crowd. This was how they got their crowds, they had enough male eye candy to draw the girls between the ages of sixteen and twenty-four, and she brought in a good amount of guys, so between them they had a fair amount of fans in the bleachers. Taking her place behind the electric piano, she waited for Aster to lift his closed fist into the air, and then as he counted down from five, she prepped her fingers for the opening song. Finally the lead singer reached one, and the rocking first solo rang out among the rafters.

"_**Throw up your Rawkfist if you're feelin' it when I drop this!"**_

North bobbed his head in time, and Jack pounded out the two opening notes, while Tooth gave herself up to the music.

"_**Show 'em how we blow the spot, let's make it hot, let's shock 'em with the body rock"**_

Jack went all out, despite Tooth's warnings, going fancy one minute, and then expertly drawing back so to allow the guitarists to have their solos. Moving onto their next song Sandy danced within his DJ box, mixing the music even as it was played, adding in flairs and flourishes that made their style so unique. Tooth grinned, her eyes closing in rapture as she ad libbed a section of music, relishing how it beautifully harmonized with the song they were playing. North was singing this time, Aster harmonizing as their voices mixed together, and despite their accents they somehow managed to blend in perfect harmony. Tooth danced as she played, spinning in a tight whirl, and then slamming her fingers back down on the keys. Aster was jumping up and down, doing a hopping like dance as he played the guitar, his eyes shut as he gave himself up completely to the music.

Jack grinned widely, his drumsticks whirling in his fingertips, and proceeded to drum away until suddenly the boy froze. His smile fell, and his drumsticks stilled, until he was merely sitting there glaring at the side of the stage. Standing backstage, sneering at his group, stood their rival. Pitch Black, the lead singer and guitarist of the heavy metal group Dark Thoughts, was currently standing with his group of 'fearlings' as Jack had nicknamed them. All stood in their black clothes, black hair, and surly attitudes.

"JACK!" Someone bellowed into his ear bud.

Looking back onto the stage, Sandy used a brief pause between beats to sign to the boy _'What's wrong?' _

Jack winced, realizing he had stopped drumming completely, and thanked his lucky stars for dropping off during Aster and North's guitar solos where it sounded like they were having a battle. '_Pitch and the ghoulies are here at our show!'_ Jack signed back.

Sandy's face immediately turned and saw their rival standing backstage, and a look of fury crossed his face, his hands clenching into fists. Not many people knew this, but Pitch and Sandy were twin brothers, not identical of course, and many people remarked on how different they were. Sandy was light, fun, and full of goodness. Pitch had crawled into a dark hole of bitterness and contempt, and effectively died there. The boys had been separated from each other sometime during their years at the orphanage, and Pitch endured horrors and hardship beyond belief, eventually falling into drugs and gang lifestyle as well as getting in trouble with the law. They had not seen him until they met on the road, both having started bands of their own, and Pitch still blamed Sandy for the cards fate had dealt him; somehow thinking that his mute brother had betrayed him by not fighting to keep them together and protect him from the horrors of the foster care system.

Sandy had tried making amends, but Pitch would have none of it, and after numerous attacks against them in various ways, Sandy and his twin had become bitter rivals and enemies. It broke the hearts of the entire band to see Sandy suffer, but sometimes life happens when you least expect it, and all you can do is stand strong and not let it get you down. Finally, after what seemed like hours, Aster was giving the goodbyes and thanks and the group was walking down offstage. Jack wiped his brow from the sweat streaming down from it, and North quickly swept down on him, his hands brushing the boy's brow worriedly.

"Are you alright?" he asked his brow furrowed with concern "You are not overheated, are you?"

"Nooooorth!" Jack whined swatting his older brother's hands away "Jeez, I overheat and faint just once, and you treat me like a kid for the rest of my life, it's been months since I fainted."

"Jack," North pinned him with a stern glare "I am your brother, it is my job to worry, now are you drinking lots of water?"

"Yes, yes, yes," Jack grumped ducking away from North and jogging a few feet away "now leave me alone."

Turning around the boy suddenly felt dizzy, and lightheaded, wobbling on his feet and falling sideways only to get caught by Aster "Oi," the Aussie said in a gruff voice that had an undertone of concern "careful mate, ya been drinking enough water? We don't need another episode like the last time ya got dehydrated."

North stomped up to the teen, and flung him over his shoulder, Jack pounded on his back, screaming out for all he was worth about the unfairness of the situation being thrust upon him. Aster merely chuckled, and turned to Tooth had had only just joined them, and seeing her raised eyebrow explained the scene that had just occurred "Brain freeze over there went and got his'self dehydrated again, almost fainted."

"Oh no," Tooth sighed before letting out a small giggle "North must be furious."

Aster shot her a wicked grin "Yeah, I would recommend ya not try talkin' ta either of them tonight."

Both shared a knowing smile before suddenly whirling around when a large crash sounded behind them. To their shock and horror, there stood Sandy, his fists clenched at his sides, and his face a mask of anger and mistrust. Pitch stood in front of him, his own face decorated with a sneer, and between them on the ground lay a box of Sandy's DJ equipment, some of it broken. Aster quickly strode over, and picked up the box, then laid a hand gently on Sandy's shoulder. Giving it a comforting squeeze, the Aussie whispered to his friend.

"Let it go Sandy," he urged "Pitch ain't worth it, let's just get on the road and head to our next gig, yeah?"

Sandy's fists trembled with the resolve it took not to start swinging them, and finally he let out a long slow breath and turned on his heel to stride out of the room. Aster sneered at Pitch "What," he snarled "don't have anything better ta do than ta play petulant pranks?"

"Please," Pitch sighed "I was just helping take out the garbage, it isn't my fault that my poor excuse of a sibling uses such outdated equipment... I was almost doing him a favor."

"That equipment was the gear he saved up for and bought when we first became a band," the Aussie growled between gritted teeth "outdated or not, it means a lot ta him, and I suggest ya learn ta watch where yer going mate, otherwise I'll have ta teach ya a lesson."

"Ooooh!" Pitch shivered theatrically as he rolled sarcastic eyes "I'm SO scared of the big bad Aster, go back to the outback Kangaroo, you don't belong here."

"I belong here more than you," Aster shot back "what are ya doin' here anyways, a different band was booked to follow us up on this circuit."

"They backed out," Pitch replied with a self satisfied smirk "family emergency or some such nonsense, so the booking agent called us, and now we're taking their place. It's a good thing too, I'm sure the people will be ready for some real music, especially after listening to you losers."

Aster ground his teeth together, ready to throw a punch but decided against it, like he had just told Sandy, Pitch wasn't worth it and he certainly wasn't going to rise to that scumbag's bait. Walking away, the Aussie sighed, if Pitch was on the same circuit as they were, then that meant that they would be forced to see him every weekend for the next three months of their latest tour down the coast of California. Aster rubbed his temples, feeling a sudden headache coming on, suddenly he was not looking forward to this summer.

**Ok, I know it's short, and not very interesting, but this is a taste test. Is this something ya'll would want me to continue?**

**YES, I am STILL doing Human!Bunny, and I WILL be doing the psychic arc VISIONS after that, this is just a random arc that I will update every now and again…that is…if you like it.**

**The winner of the REVIEW GAMES is…..the Guest reviewer who talked about how they are not into Horror, but liked the Pitch scenes (you know who you are!). Regular rules apply, if you don't know what they are, PM me, and I will tell you.**

**Congratulations, and everyone PLEASE REVIEW, I want to know your opinion on this.**


	40. Human Bunny5

**Back to some Human Bunny!**

**No…I do NOT own ROTG…**

"We have to WHAT?!" Tooth shrieked.

Her high pitched scream caused Bunny to lean back as far away, his face a harsh wince as her voice penetrated his eardrums. Pursing his lips in determination, the newly turned human stood up and picked up the chair, strode across the room in long graceful strides, and placed it next to jack. Turning the chair backwards, the green eyed teen sat down facing the front, folding his arms across the back of the chair and placed his chin on top. Jack gave a small giggle at the quiet in the room, but when Tooth turned back to North and continued shrieking the winter spirit looked down at Bunny, his eyebrow raised in question. Bunny saw the expression, and then gave a small chuckle as he made himself comfortable on the chair.

"I never sat next to her before I was human," he said in a conspiratorial whisper "thought it was because of my heightened sense of hearing as a rabbit…but now I realize…she's just that loud."

Jack's blue eyes widened until he began to laugh so hard he snorted. Delighted giggles and gales of laughter reverberated to the ceiling, causing Aster to give a fond smile, his eyes shining at the way Jack had allowed himself to relax around them and just throw his head back and laugh. Sandy stood by, smiling as he made pictures of a tiny Tooth fairy shouting and the voice waves going out from her mouth blowing all the guardians away, and destroying the workshop. Jack and Bunny were both helpless puddles of goo laughing their heads off as the picture show continued showing her eventual destruction of the earth by defeating Goku by yelling at him, and blowing up the planet. Aster could barely breathe, clutching his sides as he gasped for air, snorts of laughter exploding between delirious giggles.

"EXCUSE ME!"

All three froze where they were, and slowly looked up to see the irate face of the tooth fairy floating above them, her eyebrow twitching in frustration, and her tiny fists clenched at her sides. Immediately the boys exchanged guilty looks laced with twinkling eyes brimming with restrained laughter. Tooth pointed an angry finger in their faces, her feathers ruffled, and her teeth gritted with supreme irritation.

"We are having a serious conversation," she hissed in a threatening tone "so I suggest that you take it _seriously_."

"K," Jack squeaked as his shoulders shook with the effort it took not to burst into another round of giggles.

Bunny was enduring an equal amount of suffering, settling with biting his lips to cage the guffaws within, and merely giving a thumbs up as he struggled to stay quiet.

Sandy however was having no problem with melting into yet another round of silent giggles at the scene, obviously not very frightened of the fuming fairy, but when a guy could put a room of people into a deep sleep with a nod of his head he probably didn't fear much. With a huff, and a flurry of multicolored feathers, Tooth flew across the room and sat herself down next to North crossing her arms and setting her face in an unhappy pout. The three boys exchanged another look, and once again began snickering and snorting, their giggles causing their bodies to shake as they attempted to keep their laughter quiet. North cleared his throat, causing the trio to once again give pause, and after a stern look from Father Christmas, finally settled down and returned their attention to the matter at hand.

"Now," North said his gaze still wary as he watched the boys to ensure they did not fall back into mischief "to reiterate, Pitch turned Bunny completely human, and he is aging as human now. We have until his nineteenth birthday to change him back, or he will lose his memory, and stop being Guardian."

"Question," Jack said raising his hand "how does Pitch even know Bunny's birthday…and why wasn't I told?"

"Why do ya need ta know?" Aster asked with a wry grin.

"Well," Jack huffed with a pout "because I'm the Guardian of Fun, and the fact that you have a birthday coming up is a blatant breach of contract."

"Breach…" Aster fought the chuckles as he cocked his head at the kid "of contract?"

"Yeah!" Jack burst out spreading his arms wide "It's my job to bring fun, and you leaving me out of the loop on extremely important information where I can bring some serious fun is bad enough, but Pitch being allowed to know is just…wrong."

Aster chuckled "Sorry Snowflake," he said ruffling Jack's hair "we never really thought about it before because we're immortal, and it didn't really matter, not until now at least."

"That stinks," Jack pouted crossing his arms again "but that still doesn't answer my question."

"Pitch's power is knowing your darkest fear," Bunny said as if he were teaching a class "the only way to do that is by seeing your memories, and my birthday is in my memories."

"I guess that makes sense," Jack said with an indignant sniff "but that doesn't mean I forgive you for keeping me out of vital information that apparently is ok for Pitch to know…but not me."

"Oh for Manny's sake," Aster sighed rolling his eyes "like I said, we never thought about it because we don't age. If it was more important and something we actually celebrated, I would have told ya."

Jack pursed his lips in an unconvinced pout and sent a sideways glare over to the human Pooka "I acknowledge that fact, but it doesn't make it any better."

North let out a chuckle "After we take care of helping Bunny, we will all tell our birthdays, will that be good?"

The winter spirit made a show of carefully pondering North's words until finally giving a nod with a mischievous grin and sly wink "All is forgiven…IF…you let me throw each of you birthday parties!"

The Guardians shared a fond smile at their youngest member's zeal for Fun, and after all it was his center, and each gave their nod of approval sending Jack hurtling towards the ceiling in an ecstatic whoop. Finally settling back into his chair, Jack waved his hand, gesturing for them to continue "Alright," he grinned "let's get this show on the road, I've got a party to plan!"

"Whatever," Bunny rolled his eyes causing Jack to suddenly notice, the rabbit had been doing that a lot lately.

"Hey Bunny," he whispered.

"What?" Aster whispered back.

"You ok? Your eyes keep coming loose and rolling around your head, I was worried something is wrong." The boy completed said statement with a completely innocent look.

Bunny narrowed green eyes at the boy "What I do with my eyes is none of yer business."

"Ok," Jack shrugged "it must just be the affects of acknowledging that you're actually a kid again, and so you're acting more immature." Jack stopped long enough to grin and clap Bunny on the back "If anything I'm proud of you Cottontail."

"Oh shad'dup," Bunny groaned.

"Can we get back to main reason why we have meeting?" North's exasperated voice cut through any possibility of another fight.

"Ok," Tooth continued, clapping her hands together to gain attention "we know that we only have a certain amount of time before Bunny becomes human permanently, so we need to start brainstorming about how to change him back, any ideas?"

"Actually, yeah," Bunny's deep voice broke in as he stood up and strode to the middle of the room "I've been thinkin', and I believe our best bet will be with the temple on my home planet. It still contains a large amount of ancient Pooka magic, and should be a good place ta focus the energies and create a spell capable of turnin' me back."

"Great," Jack chirped before his face became sullen "the only problem is we don't have a spaceship capable of interstellar flight."

"Sure we do," North bellowed with a smile "we have sleigh, and I have snow globe. Easy, no?"

"Well when you put it that way," Jack nodded slowly.

"Man," Bunny groaned as he hid head face behind his arms and banged his head repeatedly on his forearm "not the deathtrap."

"What do you mean 'deathtrap'," North squawked indignantly crossing his arms in sulky anger "my sleigh has saved your furry hide more times than I count; it is not 'deathtrap'."

Aster stared blithely at him giving a slow blink at North's defense "Whatever ya say, mate."

North chuckled, and ruffled Bunny's head causing the former Pooka to swat his hand away "North," the teen growled in what he hoped was a menacing voice "just 'cuz I look like a kid, don't mean I am one."

"What are you saying Bunny," North laughed loudly grasping Aster's shoulder and giving it a gentle shake "you _are_ still young, and have been son to me for many years. Now that you are human, it is easier to treat you like one, and with Jack becoming Guardian you have younger brother, we are big happy family, no?"

Bunny's mouth fell open as the gears turned struggling to process what North had just proclaimed and concoct an accurate comeback "Uh…" he stammered "Tha's not…I'm not…wait…"

North did not let the newly turned human teen formulate an excuse, but bent down to eye level where Aster sat, and looked his square in the eyes "Bunny," he said softly with a voice glowing with conviction "we _are_ family, and I think of you and Jack as my sons. Please believe me, and though I give you hard time about Christmas, and Easter, you are still a son of whom I am proud and care about a great deal."

Aster felt his chest tighten and his eyes began to sting and burn, looking helplessly to his right, he locked eyes with Jack who merely gave him a wordless smile accompanied by encouraging blue eyes. Jack nodded at him, affirming North's words, and solidifying that they were in fact a family. Being called the son of Santa Clause was no less shocking for Jack as it was for Bunny though, and the winter spirit also felt it difficult to respond to the overwhelming amount of love layered within the words of the large men meant for the both of them. Tooth smiled, and fluttered over, her multicolored wings dancing in the breeze her wings created.

"We are family," she said softly resting a delicate hand on each of the boy's shoulders "whether you know it or not."

"So," Jack coughed rubbing his cheeks to get rid of his blush "if North's our dad, then what…you're the mom?"

Aster smiled at the joke the winter spirit made in his attempt to dispel the awkward emotional moment. Tooth however was beside herself with joy at the idea, and her lavender eyes lit up with the concept presented to her.

"You bet," she grinned maliciously as she put both hands on her hips and laughed happily "and I intend to take my job seriously, which means I have full authority to ground you if I think you deserve it."

"Aw, come one," Aster groaned throwing a glare at Jack "ya just HAD ta give her _that_ idea, didn't ya Snowflake?"

"Woops," Jack said with a bashful grin.

Sandy flew over, his face upset and his arms waving, sending pictures that clearly said _'What about me?'_.

"That's easy Sandy," Aster chuckled "yer the eccentric Uncle that keeps the family in line."

Sandman's face stretched with the wide grin currently wreathed across it and he clapped his hands together, waving them on either side of his head like he had just won a prize. The image sent everyone into a giggle fit, and Jack and Bunny were laughing the hardest. Aster looked to his side, realization dawning on him on how important these people were, at least until he fell through his chair.

Like blue smoke, everything once again disappeared, and Bunny screamed reaching out for Jack and North but moaned in fear as his hands went through them and they also disappeared. Sitting on the ground, the Easter Bunny turned teen boy gazed on his surroundings, this time he was on a cliff edge in over a foot of snow completely exposed to the cutting wind of the North Pole. His breath coming in shallow gasps, the teen felt his heart beat in an erratic tempo, his mind whirling in panic. Throwing his arms around himself, Aster immediately began to shake violently, noting how his skin had already become deathly pale and was already adopting a bluish tinge.

"No, nonononononono" the former Pooka whimpered "not again, not again, please not again."

Clenching his eyes shut, the boy felt hot tears squeeze from underneath his eyelids, and freeze on his cheeks. Stumbling to his feet, the boy slowly made his way through the snow, the wind practically toppling him over in its rage. "N-North," he gasped through chattering teeth "J-J-Jack…T-Tooth…S-Someone…Help!"

A sob caught in his throat at the current predicament once again afflicting his senses "North…" he whispered in a broken sob "Somebody…anybody…"

Suddenly though Bunny found it hard to concentrate on the faces of those he wished to save him, and he found it difficult to remember just who they were. Why was this man North so important, and who was Jack? Bunny wracked his brain, trying to remember who he was, and how he had managed to get here in this cold wasteland again. Why did he keep ending up here? Surely a boy his age had a home, right?

At the word home, a vague picture formed in his mind of a group of people, but their faces were too fuzzy to make out who they were. Flashes of memory, a large fireplace, colored eggs, a mischievous grin accompanied by twinkling blue eyes. Who were these people? Aster didn't know, and the thought that he had forgotten something immensely important caused his heart to seize in fear. Why couldn't he remember?

Aster wandered aimlessly, never leaving the cliff edge, his body shivering more and more violently as each wave of trembling wracked his freezing frame. Wait, cold….something about being cold…and some kid…What did it all mean? With a cry of rage, the teen stomped his foot, frustrated at why he couldn't remember when the memories of who he was came rushing back to him, hitting him hard enough to make him stumble backwards a few feet.

"I'm…I'm the Easter Bunny," Aster said slowly in both wonder and fear that he had forgotten "My family is North, Jack, Tooth, and Sandy…I'm not human, I'm a Pooka."

Raising his hand to his mouth, Bunny chewed on his thumbnail in terrified anxiety, why had he forgotten? Pitch's words also came back to him, about how he would lose his memory, which meant that he would also start losing his memories as well as fading in and out "This is bad," the former Pooka murmured through chattering teeth "I need ta tell North."

Suddenly a fierce roaring caught him by surprise, and the teen turned around, only to stand face to face with a Polar Bear "Ohhh C-C-Crikey" he trembled green eyes growing wide with fear "It just got worse!"

Turning to run, Aster stumbled forward not expecting the vicious swipe of claws, grazing his back tearing through cloth and flesh, leaving a bloody trail. The former Pooka fell to the ground with a scream, his face buried in the snow as he clenched his teeth against any other pained cries. Looking behind him, he gasped at the hulking white beast, carrying its bulk across the snow at a surprising speed, and once again he clambered to his feet, hoping to find a place to hide, but there was none to be found. Labored breaths wheezed past blue lips, and wobbly legs shook from fear, pain, and cold. Falling to the ground, the teen cast tear filled green eyes at what would be his executioner, and just as the black claws swung down in their final blow, he screamed.

"NOOOOOOOOOOORTH!"

**OOOH! How is THAT for a cliff hanger?! **

**Ok, I am working on Guest's request now, but I wanted to update this ASAP because I know you all are being so patient waiting for Human Bunny.**


	41. Pieces of the past

**So this is the One Shot request by Guest who wanted a little something about a weird/shocking/awkward/surprising habit that Jack had formed during his three hundred years of solitude. **

**I thought pretty hard on it, and came up with this, I ya'll like it, and I also hope that it is weird/shocking/awkward/surprising enough.**

**No I do not own ROTG, no matter how much my heart pines for it…it is not true.**

It was a day like any other, it had been three months after the defeat of Pitch and the Guardians were gathering together for one of their biweekly meetings, and as per usual Jack was late. North sat at the table, reading glasses on his face, and blueprints for a new invention spread out in front of him as he softly hummed to himself. Tooth was having a heated debate with one of her fairies about the difference between various brands of toothpaste, and Sandy was enjoying a nice snooze in his chair. The only person not keeping themselves occupied was a certain anthropomorphic rabbit. He was currently sitting in his chair his face set in angry impatience, feet propped up on the table, and his arms crossed accompanied by whiskers that twitched in time with the ticking of a nearby clock.

"Blast it," the rabbit finally burst as he lunged forward and slammed the table with an irritated fist "where is Jack, he should have been here an hour ago!"

"Jack told me he would be late," North waved away still poring over the papers "it is why I have cake and coffee brought. If Jack thinks he needs to tell me he will be late, then we will have long wait."

Tooth giggled "That's true, normally Jack just arrives when he wants to, but if he thought to tell you he was going to be late, then we are going to be waiting for a while."

Bunny wilted, his features an unhappy pout before he finally straightened up and strode away from the table. North glanced up over his glasses, blue eyes twinkling in both amusement and curiosity "And where," rumbled the large Russian "are you going?"

"I'm going ta get Brain Freeze," the rabbit snarled as he tapped the ground with his foot "regardless of him tellin' ya he'll be late, kid needs ta learn that there are some days that ya be on time ta important things and not make other plans."

Tooth rolled her eyes with a fond smile, and North gave a small chuckle as he turned back to his work. If Bunny wanted to travel the colder parts of the world searching for their youngest member, he certainly wasn't going to stop him. Aster hopped into the hole, his eyes glowing with determination as he thought about the various ways he planned on giving the kid a lecture as he slowly dragged him back through the tunnels. It took various tries in many places until the rabbit finally found the winter spirit sitting in a cave far in the northern reaches of Alaska. Walking into the cave, Bunny gave a tentative sniff, nodding his head in confirmation when he smelled Jack's scent. He was not prepared for what he would see however.

There sat Jack on the floor of the cave, facing the interior of the cavern, and in front of him was the image of a person sitting cross legged on the floor carved from an ice block. Bunny hung back, unsure of just what was going on, and waiting for some kind of clue that would show give him the answer. Jack sighed, his critical gaze eyeing the ice sculpture, and leaned forward to brace his elbow on one knee, and rest his chin on his fist.

"Hey," the boy said softly.

'_Hey'_ his voice echoed back seemingly from the ice sculpture.

Bunny jerked back, Snowflake wasn't seriously talking to this…thing…was he?

"I know I haven't been here in a while," Jack chuckled nervously.

'_Haven't been here in a while'_

"You can at least pretend to miss our talks" Jack pouted

'_At least pretend to miss our talks'_

"I came here, didn't I?" Jack shouted.

'_Came here, didn't I?'_ his voice shouted back causing Jack to wilt and go silent.

Bunny was standing in jaw slackened shock; Jack was actually talking to a block of ice and pretending that it was talking back. The idea was so ludicrous it took every drop of resolve within the Pooka not to stomp out there and bash that ice person into tiny melting pieces, but then he was struck by the realization that if he did that then Jack would have no reason to trust him, and might even cling to the ice person even tighter than before. The idea sent a shudder rippling down the rabbit's spine, and so he resigned himself to merely watching, and listening.

"So," Jack stammered before coughing and strengthening his voice "how have you been?"

'_How have you been?'_

"You answer first" Jack sniffed.

'_You answer first'_

"I don't want to," the winter spirit growled "you answer first."

'_Want…you answer first'_

"Typical, you never answer that question" Jack sighed.

'_Typical…never answer…question'_

"Shut up," the ice child snarled "it's not like you care."

'_Shut up…not…care…'_

The lonely sprite scoffed "No need to get so defensive."

'_Get so defensive'_

"I do not!" Jack snarled "You never talk back to me anyway, you don't even matter!"

'_Never talk… you don't matter!'_

Suddenly the all too familiar throb of pain over his heart began to suffocate him, stealing his breath, and Jack felt the heavy weight of depression settling in "No," he said in a broken sob "You're just a useless block of ice!"

'_You're… useless block of ice!" _

"Leave me alone!" Jack screamed striding towards the ice person in angry steps "you're pathetic, and worthless!"

'_You're pathetic and worthless!'_

"SHUT UP!" with an outraged scream Jack threw himself on the ice sculpture, and Bunny watched in growing horror as the boy beat it into ice chunks "You know nothing!" Jack shouted brokenly though whether he was talking to the statue or to himself the rabbit didn't know "You ARE nothing! You're just a cold piece of ice, and all you do is hurt people! You have no heart, and you're not even worth talking to, YOU SHOULDN'T EVEN EXIST!"

'_You're not…worth talking to, YOU SHOULDN'T EVEN EXIST!'_ came back the echo.

And suddenly Jack fell to the ground in the middle of the wreckage, wrapping his arms around himself, giving a shudder, almost as if he were cold. Tears streamed down his face in torrents as he fell over on his side, and curled into himself in the fetal position and began to sob violently. His shoulder jerked as they fell up and down as the weeping caused them to convulse, and as Bunny watched, one pale fist began to beat on the hard stone. Time after time it swung, leaving Aster hypnotized, frozen in horror as he watched it strike the rough stone until it bled. His breath coming in short shallow gasps, the boy kept swinging his fist, taking his anger, sorrow, and depression out on the cold rock surface. It wasn't until Bunny heard a loud snap from within the boy's hand that he was broken from his trance, and darting forward with a speed even he didn't know he possessed, scrambled forward just in time to capture Jack's hand and keep it from hitting stone once more.

Jack's blue eyes whirled up, and as green met blue, he winced as shame crashed through him. The winter child struggled to scramble away, needing to hide from Bunny, wishing that he could just run away and pretend it never happened, but Aster wasn't letting go. With a choked whimper, Jack huddled into himself, one arm still being clutched by the Easter bunny, the other wrapping around his knees, hugging his legs to his chest. Burying his face into his knees, Jack refused to look at the rabbit, crawling into a defensive shell, wishing for all he was worth that this was merely a nightmare. Bunny couldn't believe the change that had taken place in their little Guardian. True Bunny had only technically known him as a friend and fellow Guardian for three months, but he never would have guessed that Jack had these kinds of deep seeded issues.

"Jack," Aster began but his voice dropping when he noticed the harsh flinch that shook the boy.

Biting his bottom lip, Aster struggled with how to proceed when suddenly an idea popped into his head. Jack didn't need words, at least not right now, he needed someone alive and breathing to help him realize he wasn't alone. And so with a gentle but firm hand, Aster dragged Jack by the arm, patiently resisting the attempts to escape, and pulled the child into his lap. Jack waited, waited for the harsh words and the sneering voice, waited for the confirmation that everything his ice person had said was true…but it never came.

Instead furry arms wrapped around him, and a deep voice rumbled as Bunny hummed soothingly, one paw gently patting his back. Fierce trembles overtook the child, and soon he was melting into yet another puddle of tears. Pale fingers clenched Bunny's fur in a death grip, and soon Jack was finally allowed to empty himself of the sorrow, fear, and pain of being alone for so long. Bunny placed one paw on Jack's head, softly stroking the white strands and pale neck, his voice never faltering as he rocked back and forth allowing Jack his cry out. After almost an hour of continual sobbing, Jack finally calmed, his breath coming in shuddering gasps as he snuggled even closer into the Pooka's embrace desperately craving validation for his existence and worth.

"I'm sorry," Jack whispered miserably in a voice hoarse from crying.

"Fer what?" Bunny asked incredulously.

"For… I don't know," the boy croaked over a threatening sob "for not being strong enough, or good enough…for not being a better Guardian."

Bunny scowled into the white hair "And how are ya not being a good Guardian?"

Guardians don't talk to ice people," Jack hiccupped into Bunny's fur "they aren't like me…weak and pathetic…unable to do anything worthwhile."

"Now ya stop talkin' like that," Bunny held back a growl "those are lies, and I don't care who told 'em to ya, they aren't true!"

Suddenly Jack went very still, and in a small voice Aster could barely hear, he mumbled "You told them to me."

A slice of pain stabbed Bunny right in the heart, and unconsciously he gripped Jack even tighter against him as those horrible dreaded words came back to him, words he had uttered many years before. Bowing his head in abject grief, the anthropomorphic rabbit bit his lip till it bled, unable to cope with the sheer amount of pain and torment he had helped reap upon this child and ultimately lead him to this situation. Cuddling the boy, Bunny snuffled his temple, giving it a small nudge as he struggled to form the appropriate words needed to heal this immense hurt poisoning Jack from the inside out.

"Jackie," Aster said softly "ya need ta listen ta me, mate."

After receiving a small nod into his shoulder, the rabbit sighed and continued "I'm so sorry that we, that I left ya alone fer so long, it was horrible, and I feel awful about it. As for those things I said…I'm _so_ sorry, it was wrong, and ugly, and utterly, utterly terrible of me ta have even ever said that ta ya. I know I can't even begin ta make up fer the time you spent talkin' ta…ice people…but even though I know I don't deserve it I want ta try, if ye'll let me."

Seconds ticked into minutes, and Bunny waited breathlessly, hoping that Jack had heard his plea for forgiveness until finally he felt the smallest nod against his shoulder. A sigh of relief whooshed from his lungs, and the rabbit clutched Jack with gratitude. He knew that the time taken to ponder his answer, and the minute sized nod was proof of Jack's reluctance to trust, but even if it was a itsy bitsy tiny step forward, Bunny was willing to take it. As long as they were on the path to forgiveness and true reconciliation, that's all that the Pooka wanted.

"Come on," Aster said in a voice choked up with emotion "let's get ya ta the Warren so I can take a look-see at that hand."

"But," Jack small voice cut in, the tone small and unsure much like a child's "what about the meeting at the North Pole?"

Bunny looked at the boy, and considered it, before cracking a wide grin "Nah," he chuckled with a wink "I don't think the others were too psyched about havin' a meetin' today anyways."

Jack answered with his own grin, and as one, the two walked out of the cave, each leaving behind a past of broken shattered pieces and into a future full of light and possibility.

**Can anybody say "AWWWWWWWWWWWW!"**

**That actually turned out way better than I thought it would, and wow, I even turned up the angst-o-meter too!**

**OKEYDOKEY! So a little of Human!Bunny next, but only if you guys are good and post LOTS of REVIEWS! Ok? So get those numbers dancing!**


	42. Bedtime Stories 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own ROTG**

**I'm sorry! I'msorryI'msorryI'msorryI'msorryI'm SO SORRY!**

**For all who were waiting SO very patiently for the next installment of the Bedtime stories arc, and I know I've been taking my time on it, but I haven't forgotten, but when you have a brain that throws around drabble ideas the way some people play pinball…it's not easy.**

**And I KNOW that I promised Human!Bunny….but I think the people waiting for bedtime stories kind of have you trumped in terms of who has had more patience…so please be nice…ok?**

**OK! Here is the next installment of bedtime stories!**

North sat in his favorite armchair in front of the fire, his blue eyes gazing into the flames as he pondered the nightmare from the previous evening. He knew that Jack did not always stay with him, but only dropped by when he felt like sleeping in a proper bed, which left a boatload of nights unaccounted for that he could easily suffer from nightmares all alone. Thus was the reasoning behind summoning the other guardians, except he had not used the northern lights in his attempt at having a 'secret war council' meeting with the older members of their team. Something had to done, and North was determined to make sure that their youngest member was taken care of by his new family.

"Oi North, what's with the secret messages?"

Father Christmas' head shot up as he met the gaze of his long time friend E. Aster Bunnymund and his eyes crinkled as he smiled in greeting "There is something important I wish to discuss…without Jack."

One of Aster's eyebrows shot sky high as he processed what the man said, but was cut off before he could make a remark.

"What could we possibly discuss that won't involve Jack?"

Both guardians turned and gave a small wave at the Tooth fairy as she and Sandy flew down to the area where all had gathered. North gave a melancholy sigh and then gestured for everyone to sit down. Once again his gaze was drawn towards the flames, and the large man began to explain the reason behind his troubled countenance.

"Jack has been having nightmares" Santa spoke quietly, noting the immediate change in the atmosphere "Last night he woke up screaming, and when I woke him up, he was terrified."

"Do you know what the nightmare was?" Tooth asked softly, her lavender eyes full of worry.

"No," North replied "Nor did I ask, I only feel worry that he is fighting Pitch without anyone to help him when he falls asleep."

"Look mate" Bunny said with sympathetic eyes "You've already offered the kid a home here, there's not much more you can do."

"I know" North sighed, his face becoming downcast "I was just hoping we could find a way to help him fight his nightmares, because regardless of being around for three hundred years, Jack is in many ways still a child, and I have no doubt that Pitch is using that to his advantage."

Sandy floated into the middle of the conversation, an image of Jack on a bed curled up in a ball and looking scared, then an image of North, and a question mark.

"Yeah!" Tooth cried "What did you do last night?"

North blinked, and then gave a small laugh "Well" he said slowly, gesturing with his hands as he searched for the right words "I remembered that I had nightmares as a child, and so I did what my father had done for me."

"Which was?" Bunny asked.

"I told him a bedtime story."

"You," Aster barked out a laugh "Told a bedtime story ta snowflake? Come on mate, I don't really see that going down considering he doesn't like ta be fussed over."

"True, true" The large man conceded "Jack was not sold on idea at first either, but it worked, and he had good sleep for the rest of the night."

"What story did you tell?" Tooth asked.

"I tell him old German folktale," North replied proudly "Jack likes original fairytales, not those silly things thought up by movie companies."

Bunny found himself nodding. He couldn't deny that he felt a tad more respect for the boy on his choice. There just wasn't enough people anymore who cared about the original fairytales and folklore, and to find that their youngest guardian was one of them, made the rabbit irrationally happy.

"Then that settles it" The Pooka murmured as he stood up.

"What settles it?" Toothiana asked her face screwed in confusion.

"We will just have ta tell the twerp bedtime stories to help him avoid nightmares." Bunny shrugged in seeming nonchalance.

"That is great idea!" North practically sang.

And that was how it began.

…

Later that night, Jack returned to the North Pole after a long day of playing with some baby polar bears. Since it was summer, there were few areas he could go without suffering from heatstroke, and so the sprite found himself often just exploring the workshop, or playing with the wind outside, if not taking numerous long naps due to it being his time of hibernation. Tonight however he dragged himself to his room, only to give his bed a weary glare. The night before North had helped him fight away the shadows by telling him a bedtime story, an act Jack admitted to himself actually helped a lot despite his age, but tonight North was away on business, and he was alone.

"GAH!"

Jack slapped himself hard across the face, he did _not_ need North to deal with Nightmares, and he most certainly did _not_ need bedtime stories. He was three hundred and sixteen years old for crying out loud! With a determined nod, and a stubborn set to his chin, the winter spirit set his staff down against the wall, and crawled into his bed. Snuggling deep into his blankets, the frost child closed his eyes, and allowed himself to relax. He did not want to become dependent on the other guardians, and he most certainly was not some little kid that was scared to go to sleep, tonight he would face those phantoms on his own.

Unfortunately that was not to be…

Sandy was stopping by preparing to give all those who dwelt in the castle sweet dreams when he felt a disturbance in the dreamscape. Rushing towards its source, Sandy gave a silent sigh of grief when he was led to the window of their youngest member. Once again the boy was caught in the throes of a nightmare, and the sandman immediately wrapped his trembling frame in a thick blanket of golden sand, pouring out his contribution for the boy's wellbeing by giving him his personal favorite fairy tale, in the form of a dream.

…..The story of The Three Ravens…

One day in November, the Queen died….

Outside the leaves fell lamenting, reds and gold's falling in memory of their beloved lady. Inside, weeping, the King, his three sons, and a daughter, as well as hundreds of others who came to pay their last respects; but there was one among the mourners who's eyes were dry. There was one among the mourners whose heart was ice, whose soul was cold, whose smile was sly, whose mind raced ahead to the day when the King would want to ease his loneliness. And the witch, for which she was, fixed her dry eyes on the mourning King, and schemed 'Mine' she schemed, 'Mine, all mine, and you may well weep.'

Her scheme was simple and terrible, she groaned for power, for majesty over all things, and for that gold circle to be placed on her head. She wanted this until the want ate away her heart and soul. The King never saw the witch, all he saw was the play of memories working their terrible dance on his weary mind. But if anything, the witch was patient. She waited, and drew the King in inch by inch, the past tugging him one way, and she patiently pulling him the other. Because when he finally saw her, he thought he saw his wife. "You're back!" he thinks, and she whispers in the dark "Our little secret."

Soon the announcement was made, and the wedding had been celebrated, but the witch was not happy, nor satisfied. For those children were her rivals in power, and the longer they lived, the more she would have to fight for what she believed to be rightfully hers. And so she sowed a seed of fear in the children's lives. Stairs gave way, horses bucked wild, balconies crumbled, and snakes lived in the toy box. Despite these happenings, the Queen was always honey, but sometimes the King would catch a look, and he worried; perhaps she was also the bee.

Torn between his enchantment with his wife, and the love for his children, the King schemed up a plan of his own. Rushing into the castle nursery, the King clapped his hands excitedly, garnering his children's attention.

"Children!" he cried "Come, we are going to take a holiday!"

"Where father?" one of the young princes asked.

"To a forest" the King replied, his eyes twinkling "A magic forest!"

Walking to the edge of their kingdom, the King held out a simple ball of thread, and then placed it on the ground. Suddenly the ball began to move on its own, and the children watched it move down the path and into the trees.

"Follow the thread." The King shouted.

Soon a great game was underway as the children followed the magical ball of thread deep into the forest. Laughing and shouting, they chased the ball until it came to a stop outside a hidden glade. Within lay a lovely cottage, a lake, and a beautiful garden. Shouting with excitement, the children ran inside, exploring every inch of their new home.

"This is your secret place" the King told the princess softly "No one can find you here without the magic thread, and I will come visit you each day."

"You brought us here because of _her_, haven't you" The princess said sorrowfully "our stepmother."

"Of course not!"

But the princess was right, for right at that moment, the Queen was sitting at home studying terrible spells. They were obstacles keeping her from power, and the more that they clouded her mind with fear for her position as Queen, the darker her plans for them became. Through slight of hand and manipulations, the Queen soon stole the magic thread and discovered the children's hideaway, then set off in her plan of death and doom.

Upon arriving at the hideaway belonging to the children, the evil Queen searched out the three princes, giving them three shirts that she had made for them, begging them to try them on so that she may see the boys wearing them.

"Put them on," she said cheerily "then your father can see you in them!"

But how could their father see them, when this thread won't work, when that ball would roll and lead him to their magical place of refuge. Even though they were scared, they did as they were told, but none expected the Queen to rise up, throwing her hands into the air muttering an incantation over and over.

"The shirt will hurt, the wings will sting, the beak will shriek, the eyes will cry!"

As she muttered that horrible incantation, the princes writhed and shrieked as their bodies twisted and shrank, feathers shooting from their skin and their faces bubbling as beak grew from their mouths. The witch cackled at the sight, but stopped when she turned around and noticed the princess, her eyes glaring accusingly at her step mother before turning around and running for her life. For a day and a night the princess ran, stumbled, fled until she dropped, dropped into a dead sleep. And when she woke there were three ravens in front of her, or perhaps she dreamt it, for they spoke to her.

'_Sister'_ they seemed to say _'We are trapped, help us.'_

"How," she asked "how can I help you?"

'_You must keep silent,'_ they replied _'for three years, three month, three weeks, and three days.'_

Putting her finger to her lips as a sign, the princess felt a tear fall down her cheek as she thought to herself _"Then I will not speak."_

And so the princess began her promise not to speak to a single soul for three years, three months, three weeks, and three days. She could not speak to a single soul, she could not even write a note, for such was the power of their stepmother's spell. The princess made her home high in the hollow of a tree, and there she began to live out the exile imposed upon her, silent as weeks and weeks went by. Until the day when a young prince comes upon a stream, and in the stream he finds a handkerchief, and on the bank he finds the princess. She jumped up, startled but the prince stops her with an outstretched arm, pleading her to stay.

"Come back," he cried his face a mask of confusion as she motioned for him to stay away "have you been cursed, is that it."

The princess strengthened her resolve, refusing to speak to the handsome stranger, the prince continued to gaze on her "Can…Can you not speak?" he finally murmured.

The princess gave him a wary glare, making the prince smile at her in both amusement and interest "Look," he finally said in a kind tone "I'm not going to hurt you, I'll simply sit quietly down beside you."

After saying this, he sat down on the bank, with the princess sitting on the other side, her glare never leaving his face, her beautiful eyes scrutinizing his every move. Eventually he brought out food, and offered her some, to which she could not deny and soon the prince was talking whilst she sat eating. He talked of everything, of his past, his present, and his plans but all the while he was thinking _"What eyes…"_ and _"To kiss that mouth…"_. So entranced was he with the princess that he came back to that forest glade every day, each day the princess found that she could smile again, a darling smile that wrapped around her heart and his heart, and squeezed them tightly together. Soon the prince gave up speaking too, and the two were content to merely sit, each enjoying the other's presence and smiles.

Until finally the Prince could no longer wait, and burst "Love" he said and "Marriage" and "Always" and "Ever"! And then they kissed, and that was that, the princess soon found herself riding home with the prince, her face aglow with the beauty of the love he had given her, but all the while, she had still not spoken, not even a whisper. On the way to his kingdom, the prince spoke of his father the king, and his mother, who had died some time before. The princess felt her heart break in two, wishing for all she was that she could say "I know, mine too."

In time, they finally arrived, and as proud as you please the prince introduced his sweetheart to his father, and his stepmother. The princess reared back as if she had been slapped, for the new queen was none other than her stepmother the witch, who was recently widowed from her previous husband. The witch glared at the princess, a sneer twisting her lips. To her the princess was nothing more than a thorn pricking at her ambitions, for she had a taste for Kings now, for countries, for power. And the only person capable of ruining her carefully laid plans was the very princess standing before her. Though the princess could not speak, she accused with her eyes 'Killer of my father, bewitcher of my brothers', and the witch knew she had to be done with her, lest the princess come between her and her ambitions.

The prince however knew nothing of this and married his sweetheart, and soon the princess was pregnant with their first child. It felt not even a minute had gone by until there he was, a son, and the princess would have given anything to say his name, to sing to him, to whisper; but she couldn't, and so she didn't. But a terrible thing happened that night, the princess awoke the next morning, and found their baby missing. The princess didn't know where the baby was, and could not speak, nor could she do what she wanted to do so dearly and go ask the witch where her son was.

That night, the princess, went into the garden and dug a small hole. Bending low to the earth, the princess screamed into the Earth, screamed all her pain and sorrow into the dirt.

The prince became worried, and whispers sounded within the halls of the castle, until news came that the princess was pregnant again. This time, the joy was muted, and the whispers became rumors. Once again, as soon as the baby was born, the princess struggled to remain awake, but to no avail. Once again, she woke, only to find her baby boy missing, and the evil witch smiled wickedly. She fed the rumors, encouraging the prince and the rest of the castle to believe that the princess didn't want the baby, and was killing them.

A third son came, and this time the prince stayed with her, they both struggling to stay awake as they guarded their child. They sat in silence, their hearts full to bursting, watching their little one move his fingers like stars. But eventually the emotional strain, and the physical pain of the birth washed over them, causing them to slip into a deep slumber. The prince woke first, his voice ringing out in a moan of anguish, and the castle gathered, taking the princess to burn her as a witch. Three years, three months, three weeks and three days, mere hours from the time of her release, the princess wept silently, keeping her promise despite the danger, and soon they had tied her to a pole, and bundled wood around her, with the witch herself coming to light the fire.

But then three ravens dived out of the clouds, pecking and jabbing, until the witch dropped the torch and caught on fire herself. With a bone numbing shriek the evil witch exploded into a cloud of ash and smoke, and the princess smiled, tears streaming down her face "My brothers," she wept with a voice unused to speaking "My BROTHERS!"

Suddenly the ravens had once again became their proper selves, and what was more, they had saved the babies from the evil witch catching them even as she had dropped them down a well. Soon the princess was rewarded for keeping her promise through the reuniting of her with her babies, he brothers, her sweetheart and her crown. Unfortunately she had spoken three minutes too soon, and so her youngest brother had kept one arm as a black ravens wing, but he didn't mind, and neither did she. And so they lived happily ever after, and the princess practiced her smile until it was perfect.

…

Jack shifted in his bed, a small smile playing on the corners of his mouth as visions of a happy family hugging each other sparkled over his head in gold. Sandy gave a soft smile, reaching down to stroke the soft white hair of the sprite, his heart bursting with both worry and love for their youngest member. Jack was a son to North, and a brother to bunny, but to Sandman who had watched him his entire life, Jack was like a grandson. Sandy was already so old, and wise, childish in nature only because he understood the importance of having fun and never allowing your childish innocence to never truly fade, but he saw Jack as family, and he was fiercely protective of the boy. The fact that Pitch was somehow still affecting him made the Sand master angry beyond mere words or pictures, but for now, he was content helping Jack sleep. Looking out to the worried howling of the North Wind, Sandman placed a finger to his lips, and then flew off into the night sky, his face a happy smile that Jack was soundly sleeping.

**See? I didn't forget about you guys…really I didn't…and I promise that Human!Bunny is DEFINITELY next! I just really needed to take care of this chapter because it wasn't very fair to keep updating my other arcs and forget about this one. **

**THANKS!**


	43. Human Bunny6

**You guys are working me to the bone! You keep putting such kind and wonderful reviews, and I cannot help but start writing when you put those! **

**Ok, here is the next Human Bunny…so here we go!**

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOORTH!"

Suddenly a large hand gripped the back of Bunny's shirt, grabbing him and pulling the teen out of danger. Aster's head shot up from where it had been buried into his arms, and his damp emerald eyes locked with the worried azure of North. Suddenly the former Pooka's chest began to heave as his breath came fast and shallow, and without any warning he burst into tears, his entire body trembling as it struggled to adjust to the warmth of the workshop. Jack stood by, chewing on his bottom lip nervously as he watched the Easter Bunny have another melt down, wanting so badly to comfort him but not wanting to make his condition worse by subjecting him to even more cold. North gaped, unsure on what to do, shock enveloping him at the blatant distress Bunny was exhibiting. Finally the large man followed his instincts, and sat on the floor, scooping Aster into his arms and hugging him tightly.

The former rabbit gripped North's shirt, his sobs turning into wails as he shuddered and gasped "I-I…" Bunny sobbed "I forgot…who I was…all 'o you…everything…and then there was this bear…and… and I'm so SICK of this!"

"It's ok," North soothed gently stroking Aster's hair giving a small wince at the bleeding claw marks "you are back now, we are here."

"Yeah," Bunny gasped his face a harsh grimace from both the pain arcing across his back and the agony tearing through his heart "but for how long? Think about it mate, I'm…I'm disappearing…Oh God…I'm gonna disappear and I won't even remember what I left behind!"

Aster clenched his eyes shut as a violent sob wracked his frame and he hunched even closer to North "I don't wanna lose ya…any 'o ya…and I'm…I'm scared…" Aster's voice quieted to a whisper full of terrified grief "I don't wanna be human North, I don't wanna stop bein' the Easter Bunny, and I don't wanna disappear forever."

"Oh Bunny," Tooth sighed in grief as she reach forward to stroke his hair "you're not going to disappear, or lose us, and we're going to find a way to get you out of this problem."

Sandy joined in, wrapping his dream sand around the sob wracked frame, allowing the peace found in sweet dreams flow into the former rabbit, and calm his fraying nerves. Jack shuffled forward, his worried gaze examining Bunny's trembling frame, noting how the bluish tinge had finally left his skin. Creeping forward, the boy winced at the ragged gashes, and then knelt down behind Bunny. North raised an eyebrow at the winter child, but did not pause in his soothing of the distressed Easter spirit, he watched Jack's movements carefully. Pale fingers hesitantly stretched forward, and then with a caress as light as a feather, Jack followed the line of the three cuts with his fingers, covering them in frost and staunching the blood flow with ice. Aster's back arched as he hissed in pain, his gritted teeth grinding as he struggled not to scream.

"For heaven's sake Jack," Bunny bellowed through his clenched jaw "as if I'm not cold enough already that bloody hurts!" suddenly Bunny paused and he visibly relaxed, his eyes drifting closed in relief "Never mind," he murmured "I take it back…that feels amazin'."

Jack gave a breathless laugh, and sent a small smile up to North. The large man replied with a wink, and with gentle movement, swiftly carried the former Pooka up to the infirmary.

Once there, Bunny was stripped of his jacket and shirt and laid down on his stomach, while warmed blankets were spread across the bed and hot bottles of water were placed along Aster's still trembling form. Bunny looked up with concerned green eyes "W-Why," he shuddered "Why can't I stop shakin'?"

North glanced up from where he was preparing the materials needed to disinfect and stitch up Aster's wound "Well," he began in his rumbling baritone "I can only guess that you are both cold, and are in shock. The body, when in shock, shakes terribly and can take hours for trembling to cease."

"Oh," was the quiet reply.

"Bunny," the large man murmured as he grabbed a rag and wet it with warm water "do not stress, like Tooth said, we are here and we will not let you disappear."

"I know," Aster buried his face back into his arms as his eyes once again began to sting causing the former Pooka to give a humorless chuckle "I feel so pathetic North, ever since this happened it seems I've been in the middle of an endless meltdown…I never knew I could cry so much."

"You are scared," North shrugged as he began to dap at the injury his face darkening in sorrow when Aster flinched and gave a low groan of pain "and you are unhappy over being human, and angry at Pitch for his cruelty, and worried that we will not make it in time…all those emotions cannot stay in one body together for long, they must have an outlet…it is not shameful for a man to cry."

"That's not what my father said," Aster said through gritted teeth.

The large man sighed, his arm pumping in fluid gentle movements as he cleaned the cuts "I did not know your father, but I know mine, and my father said that tears were nature's way of relieving the pressure building up inside."

Bunny was silent, his gaze pensive as he pondered North's words before whispering his fears "Am I weak?" he asked softly "Do I even have what it takes to make it through this alive and in one piece?"

"You do," North nodded with a warm smile "I believe you do. You are strong Bunny, loyal to a fault, and intelligent. If anyone has a chance at coming out the victor in this, you do."

Aster shut his eyes, feeling two hot tears trail down his cheeks "Thank you" he whispered.

North paused in his work long enough to ruffle the teen's head, his large hand patting the gray hair, hoping in some small way that the action would speak the emotions of familial love bursting in his heart. "So," he finally said as he grabbed some peroxide and antibiotic ointment "what happened?"

"What do ya mean, what happened?" Bunny growled "I disappeared again."

North made a face at the peroxide knowing that they were about to deal with some screaming before he continued the conversation meant to distract Bunny "Well," he said as if lecturing "all of a sudden, you fall through the chair, and your hands go through Jack and me. Then you start wandering around the workshop, and to make matter worse, you start turning blue!"

Bunny gave a bitter chuckle "Yeah, you try standing in two feet of snow, completely exposed to the elements in the bloody North Pole!"

"Indeed," North nodded in understanding as he wet another rag with the peroxide "but what was truly horrible was watching you all of a sudden start screaming, and watch your back get torn open in front of our eyes….Jack was beside himself and wouldn't stop screaming for someone to help you."

"Jack was worried?" Bunny asked softly.

"Yes," North chuckled "he kept walking through you, and around you, trying to grab you and pull you back inside with us."

Aster winced, picturing the distress and fear that Jack must have felt during his time on the outside "Poor kid…Wait," the former rabbit paused his eyes growing thoughtful "how did I get attacked by a Polar Bear…that doesn't make sen-AAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!"

The large man gave Bunny an apologetic look as he disinfected the cuts "I'm so sorry Bunny," he murmured "but we do not want you getting sick with fever from infection."

Aster lay on the bed moaning, his hands clenched into fists so tight his knuckles had turned pearly white as he stuck his head firmly under the pillow "Tha' was so cruel," was the muffled retort.

"I was hoping our conversation would keep you distracted," Father Christmas shrugged.

"Nothing," Bunny muttered into the fabric of the pillowcase "NOTHING could be enough of a distraction ta keep me from noticing THAT!"

"Agreed…" North nodded slowly before brightening with a smile "but at least you have stopped shaking!"

"And that just makes me feel SOOO much better," Bunny growled sarcastically.

"Just trying to find silver lining to dark cloud," North muttered as he went back to work.

"Ya still haven't answered my question," Bunny said after a few moments with a petulant pout "why was I attacked by a Polar Bear?"

"Simple," North said as he shoved his glasses back up his nose in order to better focus on threading a hooked needle "workshop is in pocket dimension, accessible only to believers. So, if a group of hikers were to come here, and they did not believe, all they would see is snow and local wildlife. When you…faded out, you fell outside of the pocket dimension, into the real world so to speak."

"Sooo…" Aster processed "technically there is a den of Polar Bears living in the workshop?"

"Technically, yes." North nodded before sticking the needle into the exposed flesh.

"GAAAAH!" Aster snarled "Warn a guy before ya do that!"

"What, and have you wriggle all over the place insisting you don't need medical help?" North said spreading his hands apart in a helpless gesture.

"I'll give ya medical help," Bunny growled "I take yer medical help, and shove it up your-"

Suddenly a timid knock sounded on the door, causing Bunny to pause in his rant long enough to see who was at the door. A small face peeked around the door, wide blue eyes full of fear and worry, while pale toes shuffled nervously on the floor.

"Um," Jack stammered "can I come in? I mean…Is it ok?"

"Yeah sure," Bunny muttered flopping an arm in a small wave "just stay away from North, he's dangerous when it comes to pointy, sharp, pain inducing objects."

Jack raised an eyebrow at North, who merely chuckled in reply "Bunny is sulking," the Russian laughed "he does not like my way of doing medical treatment."

"Medieval torture more like," the former rabbit grumped causing Jack to snicker.

"Here," the winter spirit cut in "I'll finish closing him up, you go ahead and see about getting ready to leave to find that Pooka temple thing."

North scrutinized the boy, but when he found no evidence that would point to him not being capable of completing the job, the large man merely shrugged and handed the needle to Jack. Bunny sat in slack jawed shock "Oh no, mate" he spluttered "yer gonna leave, and let brain freeze stick me with sharp objects?! Tell me, how is that a good idea? AT ALL?! NORTH!"

After the large man left the room, Jack shot an indignant pout at the ailing teen "Hey," he muttered "I've sewn up gashes before, and after three hundred years, I do pretty good so lay down and shut up."

Unable to argue with the person currently holding the needle connected to his flesh, the former rabbit flopped down with an angry sigh "Igor, calling Igor" Aster imitated sarcastically "Dr. Frankenstein is ready to begin operating in room 25B."

"Hardy har har," Jack replied in an equally sarcastic tone "you're gonna look like Frankenstein no matter what I do, so you might as well just stay still and let me at least make sure the sutures are neat."

"Whatever," Aster huffed.

Reaching over, Jack flicked Bunny on the back of the head "Brace yourself, I'm starting."

Bunny clenched his teeth, a low whine resounding from his throat as he felt the needle pierce skin and slide through muscle and tissue "See," he gasped "a warning, is that too much ta ask of North? It's not like it's that hard."

Jack laughed softly, his blue eyes on his worked as he tried to stitch Aster up as gently as possible. Several minutes went by without either speaking, but finally Aster broke the silence "Hey frostbite," he coughed.

"What?" the sprite murmured engrossed in his work.

"Uh," Bunny faltered with the words before clearing his throat and plowing ahead "I'm sorry."

"For what?" Jack asked incredulously as he pulled the thread "Brace," he muttered preparing to drive the needle back into the skin.

Aster clenched his jaw again, his breath exhaling in a long hiss as he endured the pain "For scarin' ya," he choked "North told me ya were goin' crazy."

"If anyone has a right to be scared, it's you," Jack sighed as he dug making sure he had grabbed all the tissues "besides, you shouldn't be apologizing for something you have no control over."

"But still," Bunny sighed in emotional anguish "all o' ya were scared today…because o' me…I can't lie and say that I don't feel guilty."

"Don't be stupid," Jack suddenly burst "if anyone should apologize, it's Pitch, and not you! You didn't do anything wrong, and you're scared to death, which is obvious so don't try to deny it, and that basically means that you shouldn't say you're sorry…No one blames you, so stop blaming yourself."

Bunny opened his mouth to shoot back a retort, but quickly realized that no matter how much he wanted to stay in his self deprecating funk, Jack wouldn't allow him to, and so he settled with simply laying his head back down on his arms and heaving a sigh. An hour went by, and finally Jack sat back in his chair, stretching his arms over his head and groaning in relief that he was done being hunched over. Bunny rolled to a sitting position, his face a sharp wince as he felt the skin tug and pull on the stitches, and then ruffled Jack's head.

"Not bad squirt," he said with a fond smile "I can tell without even lookin' that ya did a good job on these stitches."

"Well," Jack shrugged trying to use nonchalance to hide his pleasure over the compliment "when you have three hundred years of practicing on yourself when you get hurt, you tend to learn how to perfect the technique quickly."

"Yeah, well, ya did good mate," Bunny smiled as he grabbed a shirt left by Father Christmas "Now," he said with a cocky grin "let's go find the temple, get me back ta my handsome self, and then beat Pitch's face in for thinkin' he could mess with us."

"Agreed," Jack grinned before giving a mischievous wink "on everything but the handsome part."

"Oi!" Bunny squawked indignantly "I'm a pretty good lookin' bloke!"

"If you're good looking," the winter spirit laughed as he floated out the door into the hall "then Phil is secretly a supermodel."

"Oh yeah?" Bunny growled as he followed Jack "then why was Tooth blushin' when I walked outside as a human?"

"First, that doesn't count because you were human," Jack said as if he were explaining common knowledge "and I don't see her blushing over you as an overgrown rabbit. And secondly, her FEATHERS are PINK…how do you know she was blushing? Seriously?"

"Whatever," Aster huffed with a playful shove "yer just jealous that yer stuck in that twerpy body while I'm built like a body buildin' rockstar."

"My body is not twerpy!" Jack pouted.

"No, yer right," Aster replied with two hands raised in surrender before he cast an evil grin full of malice at Jack "it's a pretty good bod…for a toddler."

"Take that back!" Jack yelled as Aster began to run down the hall and sprint down the stairs laughing gaily at the winter spirits outburst.

"Nope!" the former rabbit practically sang.

"I mean it Bunny," Jack growled as he flew after the teen "I beat up Pitch, which means that taking you will be easy!"

"Come and get me snow cone!"

"Oh it is ON!"

**OH. MY. WORD! I actually typed that in …*checks watch* two hours… Dude…it's midnight… I need to go to bed.**

**Note: The next chapter will be to announce the winner of the Review Games! I will try to type up another chapter soon, but as it is with my life, things are about to get hectic real soon! So if I don't update for a bit, everyone please forgive me!**

**I hope ya'll enjoyed this installment of Human Bunny! I know it is nothing but filler, but I actually think it is one of my best works yet!**

**We are ate 883 reviews, just 17 reviews to go, come on GUYS! REVIEW!**


	44. Human Bunny7

**Ok, here is the next installment of Human Bunny…**

**To those who feel the story is going too slowly, please understand, plot development is key, and this story requires it LOL! I'm sorry that it feels like it's going nowhere quickly, but I wanted to make sure that all the loose ends are tied up. **

**Plus…I want to expound on the emotional deliciousness that is Bunny melting down over his current problem…and surely you wouldn't want me to skip over that, would you?!**

**Disclaimer: No…I do not own ROTG**

"Oh God…Oh man…this is bad…this is so…SO…BAD!"

Jack threw his head back, a loud laugh flinging behind him as they rode in the sleigh, Bunny holding on for dear life. "Come on Bunny," the winter spirit chuckled "it ain't that bad!"

"No…" Aster hyperventilated "It's worse…MUCH worse!"

"How?" The winter spirit chuckled incredulously.

"Because," suddenly the former Pooka's face turned somber "what if I fade out again? What if I disappear and fall hundreds of thousands of feet and splat on the ground?"

At that disturbing thought, Aster clenched his teeth, sinking down as low as he could possibly go while Jack scooted closer to pat his shoulder consolingly "I don't get it Kangaroo…"

"You don't get what?" Bunny growled at the nickname.

"Why you freak out," Jack shrugged "you freak out every time we're in this thing, but when we were fighting Pitch, you were cool as a cucumber and even would jump out of the sleigh hundreds of feet up in the air. So what's the difference?"

Bunny opened his mouth, then closed it, the gears in his mind going into over drive as he processed Jack's question "I…" he spluttered "I don't know."

Jack nodded sagely as he pursed his lips in pensive silence "That's very interesting."

"Why?" Bunny asked his green eyes looking at the kid suspiciously.

"Because," Jack smiled brightly "the things you think are scary…really aren't that frightening, especially if you are fighting for something important. If you can fling yourself off a sleigh over seven hundred feet off the ground, and fight Nightmares with nothing more than a stick…then why wouldn't you be able to turn back into a Pooka and teach Pitch a lesson?" 

Aster jerked back, his eyes wide as he stared at the boy "Y-You…really think so?"

"Yeah," Jack gave an enthusiastic nod "why wouldn't you? Sophie thinks you're amazing, Jaime never stops talking about how cool you are, and I think you're really brave and strong. Pitch is a jerk for pulling this on you, but he won't win, we won't let him."

Aster looked down, his throat constricting, and a small grateful smile playing on the edges of his mouth "Thanks Snowflake," he said in a voice hoarse with emotion but quickly cleared his throat and giving a playful glare at the winter sprite "but don't think I'm gonna let ya get away with callin' me kangaroo again."

"I wouldn't expect you to," Jack shrugged with a mischievous grin.

"Bunny," North shouted from the front "we are at good altitude, come prepare snow globe for departure."

"Right," Aster said quickly as he stood up.

Walking across the wooden boards running across the sleigh, Bunny marveled at how Jack's words afforded him a new courage, but that thought was quickly squashed with a firm face palm "Man, I getting' soft." He grumbled.

"You say something?" North asked as he clapped the reins urging the reindeer to maintain their current altitude.

"Nope," Aster replied quickly before taking the Snow Globe and whispering the name of his home planet into it.

Rearing his arm back, Bunny chucked the snow globe out in front of them, causing Jack to whistle and Sandy to clap his hands in impressed awe at the former rabbit's prowess. Bunny turned around to cast a self satisfied smirk in their direction just as they entered through the portal, and came out on the other side, the terrain underneath not so much alien as it was completely decimated. Jack leaned over the side of the railing, his gaze troubled as he absorbed the sight of so many buildings, gardens, and plazas laying in ruin underneath.

"What…" he croaked "What happened here?"

Aster heaved a sigh, his emerald eyes staring out as both anger and grief took residence in his embattled gaze "Pitch."

"When?" the winter spirit asked quietly.

"Many years ago," Tooth replied "Pitch was far more evil than he is today, and MiM has even hoped that maybe the passage of time would soften him, but in the end he still has a past full of darkness and pain."

Jack fell silent, not wishing to know any more, and merely continued to stare out at the planet "So," he said after a few moments "where is this temple?"

"I don't know," Aster said in nervous embarrassment.

"Wait…WHAT?!" Tooth burst out causing all four males to flinch at her shriek.

"Well," Bunny shrugged as he scratched the back of his neck uncomfortably "I've never really been there…and as far as I know, it may only exist in legend…"

"You're wasting valuable time," Tooth huffed her angry words escalating into furious screams "for a legendary temple, that may not even EXIST?!"

Aster weighed his words carefully before sending a bashful grin and pleading eyes over to the fuming fairy "…Maybe…?"

"OH!" Toothiana practically shrieked "What are you thinking Aster?! You have less than two days to get changed back, how are you going to find a legendary lost temple and figure out a spell in that amount of time?"

"Look," Bunny sighed "I know how much time I have left, trust me I know, but at the same time this IS our best bet and I don't know any other way ta get me back ta my old self."

"Bunny is right," North put in as his eyes scanned the horizon for a proper landing spot "though we are running out of time, I have not found any spell in my library that can change Bunny back to being Pooka. This is best idea, I can feel it, in my belly."

Tooth flopped down on the seats of the sleigh with an unhappy huff, crossing her arms as she sulked. Jack smiled at her, but then cast his own worried gaze at the floor of the sleigh. He too was worried over whether they would make it in time, and it wasn't easy to stay hopeful when their Guardian of Hope was disappearing, taking Hope with him. Heaving a sigh, the winter child lifted his chin and cast determined eyes out onto the planet below them, they would win, all they had to do was keep up the faith. Finally North came to a stop outside of a large ruin of an egg shaped building, and the Guardians stepped off the sleigh, their eyes taking in every nook and cranny visible.

"Alright," Jack said clapping his hands together "you heard the man…er…stomach, so what do you know about this 'legendary temple' Bunny?"

Aster pursed his lips "Where sky and water meet, when the sun is at your feet, walk in the ways of the fleet, and there you will find the treasured seat."

"Charming," Jack groaned "but not very enlightening."

"It's an old nursery rhyme," Aster explained "some say it gives the directions to finding the temple, but everyone who has ever gone in search of it never came back alive…or…at all."

"Fun," Tooth said sarcastically.

"No, not fun," Jack cut in "finding a lost temple, yes that is fun…but dying and never coming back…THAT is not fun."

"Aw come on," Bunny groaned "ya were just sayin' that we would get through this, and that it would all turn out great…and now yer backin' out because of a spooky bed time story?"

"I didn't say I was backing out," Jack said quickly "I was just correcting Tooth on what is and is not Fun."

"Oh for goodness sake," Toothiana burst out "let's just get going."

"Great idea!" North smiled before rolling his eyes "But where exactly are we going?"

Sandy face palmed then went into the cent of the group, and after garnering their attention used his dream sand to create a picture of a river going up a high mountain. Jack grinned, and then pointed at his finger at the scene.

"Oh, I get it," he laughed "where sky and water meet, it means we need to find the highest mountain peak that has a stream going up the side."

Aster nodded his head, smacking his hand with a fist "That would be Mt. Valoren; it's the highest mountain on the whole planet and the only mountain that has a river current strong enough to defy gravity and push itself up the side of it."

"Good, we start there then," North bellowed "where is it located Bunny?"

Aster paused, his gaze going blank and then panicked "I…don't know…"

"WHAT?!"

"Tooth, can you STOP doing THAT?" Bunny yelled "It's been a while since I have been home, and I'm losing my memory every time I fade in and out, so this is a lot harder than you think!"

Tooth backed down, her wings drooping guiltily "I'm sorry Bunny," she sighed "I guess I have just allowed myself to get worked up into a big ball of stress."

Bunny growled before running a frustrated hand through his striped hair and took several breaths to steady his nerves "I's ok Toothy," he finally muttered "I understand that this isn't easy on any of us."

"Hey," Jack stepped in "Why don't Tooth, me, and Sandy take a fly around and we can scout out the mountains and look for one with a stream going up its side?"

"That will take time," North sighed "but it is our only option with Bunny's memory going out, and none of us knowing the area."

"Ok," Jack nodded "let's go do this thing!"

….

Aster sat on the ground, poking at a campfire he and North had put together, waiting for Tooth, Sandy and Jack to come back with news of finding Mt. Valoren. Night had already fallen, and Bunny felt his chest tighten, his fear of disappearing enveloping him in its icy chains. Heaving a heavy sigh, the former Pooka bent low, and rubbed his temple with fingertips. He was desperately trying to remember his home planet, but he could feel an almost palpable fog covering up those memories. It was driving Aster crazy that he couldn't more useful, and every time Tooth had an outburst about how little he actually knew, it only drove the wedge of guilt even farther into his heart.

"Bunny," the sound of North's rumbling baritone broke through his thoughts "you are brooding again."

Aster rolled his eyes "And how would ya know that, mate?"

"Because you are rubbing temples," the large man explained with a teasing smile "and you usually get headache when you spend too long thinking about something."

The newly turned teen blinked at the man's observational skills before turning back to the fire with a huff "So I have a headache, and so I caused it by thinkin' and tryin' ta remember where Mt. Valoren is, who cares?"

Suddenly North burst into laughter making the former Pooka bristle at the sound "And what," Aster snarled "is so funny?"

"Jack is right," North chuckled causing Bunny's indignant look to worsen even further "he said that ever since you became human, you act more like teenager, and less like you. I see that he is right, you are regressing to overdramatic teenager!"

"I am not!" Aster defended his voice cracking on the last word causing him to sound younger than he was.

North only began to shake even more violently as he struggled to keep the chuckles down to a manageable level "Ah Bunny," he sighed as he wiped tears of mirth from his eyes "you must understand that there is no shame in being young, Jack has accepted his age…somewhat… as the older brother, you should lead by example and help him understand that youth is precious and that you should not toss it aside so that you can act like old grumpy bunny."

"It doesn't matter what I think," Bunny pouted "my whole life I've been forced to settle for things that were less than stellar. I watched my kind get destroyed by Pitch, I was chosen to live an immortal life completely alone and living with those memories, and even when I did get a family…I still feel…isolated."

North scrutinized the teenage figure sitting before him, the young face lit only by the flickering light of the campfire "Do you want to be human?"

"What?!" Aster spat "Why would you ask that, North?"

"Do you want to be human?" North repeated softly.

"Of course not!" Aster stammered "No!"

"But," North said gently "If you were human, you would have second chance. You would not be tormented by the memories of the past, and you would be free to be among others like you and not feel so alone."

Bunny opened his mouth to shoot back a retort, but his voice died in his throat, wasn't this what he wanted? Sitting back the former rabbit felt like he had been struck by a bolt of lightning, by a bolt of very painful, confusing lightning. "I…" he began quietly in a voice sounding much like a lost child "I don't know."

"Bunny," North said as he clapped a meaty hand on Aster's shoulder "you know as well as I do that magic is created, and controlled by thoughts and emotions. You cannot make spell to change you back to Pooka, if you are not 100% sure that that is what you want to be."

Bunny's head bowed further and further as he felt once again the threatening tears on the edges of his vision "I don't know what ta do." He finally choked out as one solitary tear rolled down "I want ta stay the Easter Bunny, but I'm sick of bein' alone…I don't know what ta do."

"Then it sounds like you have something to think about old friend," North sighed as he stood up and popped his back "and you need to come up with an answer by tomorrow, there is not much time left."

Aster bit his bottom lip, well he knew it too, but the question still remained…what did he want?

Suddenly a breeze of cold air hit them, causing Aster to give a shudder "For heaven's sake," the former Pooka grumbled "someone has got ta teach that kid how ta control his powers ta keep other people from freezin' their tails off."

"Well that shouldn't be a problem for you," Jack voice sounded from the dark as they watched his pale form walk into the circle of firelight "considering you don't have one anymore."

Aster jumped up, ready to fight, but North quickly stepped in by planting his large hand on Bunny's face and shoving him back down to the ground "So," the Russian asked ignoring the Australian profanity being spewed at him from the dirt "Did you find it?"

"Yup!" Jack said proudly "Tooth is even marking the way with her fairies so that we can find it in the morning."

"Good," North nodded "have Tooth and Sandy already left?"

"Yeah," the winter spirit sighed as he sat down on the ground a reasonable distance away from the fire "they will be back as soon as they are done doing their rounds."

"Wonderful!" North laughed.

"Yeah, that sounds just great" Aster sighed.

Come tomorrow they would be making their way to the first part of the riddle Nursery rhyme, and then hopefully they would make it into the temple itself without being maimed…or killed by whatever guarded the place. But the question North asked clamored in the back of Bunny's mind, which did he want? Did he want to stay the Easter Bunny? Or did he want to forfeit his memories, his powers, his immortality, and become a human to live among humans and maybe even have a family of his own? The thought drove Bunny to the brink of a depression and confused sorrow so deep, he did not even notice the looks of concern being cast across the fire from Jack. Wringing his hands, Aster wrapped his arms around his legs, and hugged his knees tightly to his chest. What should he choose, and did he have the strength to make the decision?

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**Ok guys, I need to go because I was literally writing this in an evening gown, while pinning my hair up in curls and putting flowers in it for a big event tonight. So now that I have done my level best to make myself as gorgeous as possible…I must make like Cinderella and ride!**

**Byes! And just because we are 909 reviews does not mean you guys are on vacation, get those numbers DANCING!**


	45. Epikaos2

**Here we go, the next addition of Epic Chaos!**

**Hope ya'll enjoy it!**

"Pitch did WHAT?!" Tooth shrieked.

"Easy Toothy," North calmed his blue eyes shooting over to the bunk beds in the RV where they were spending the next few months of their lives during their tour "Jack is sleeping."

"No, I'm not" Called a voice behind the curtain of a top bunk.

"Yes, you are," North retorted with a glare directed at the material shielding his younger brother from view before turning back to Tooth "besides, even though Pitch did something unforgiveable, we cannot allow ourselves to be psyched out so early in our circuit."

"Listen ta the man, Tooth," Aster called as he sat at a table reading glasses on his face and an appointment book lying in front of him alongside his laptop with a budget spreadsheet on the screen "we let ourselves get discombobulated this early in the game, and it's goodbye tour and goodbye record deal."

Tooth sighed "True, but I cannot forgive Pitch for his petulance and immaturity, and I certainly will never forgive that jerk for breaking Sandman's gear. Honestly, that jerk deserves to have a giant super powered magnet rip all his piercings from his body."

"I agree," Jack yelled from his bunk bed.

"GO TO BED!" Aster and North yelled in unison.

"WHY?!" Jack wailed "I'm fine! I drank water, I'm not dizzy, and it only nine stinking o'clock at night!"

"You're grounded," North bellowed across the motor coach "consider it punishment for going onstage dehydrated, and not listening to me when we both know how easily you get overheated."

"You treat me like some kind of fragile doll," Jack yelled his face poking out from behind the curtain "like I can't do anything for myself and I can't take a single step without breaking into a million pieces!"

"Jack," North rubbed his temples with his fingertips as he struggled to maintain his patience "you have a very real medical condition, where if you get stressed or overheated, you'll end up having a seizure or fainting. It would not be wise to play it off as nothing."

"Yeah mate," Aster cut in as he looked up from where he was managing their latest paycheck and inputting it into their budget "ya don't want ta have a seizure onstage and end up fallin' on top of one o' yer fan girls, do ya?"

"Well, that depends," Jack's face suddenly turned pensive "is she pretty?"

"Go ta bed ya wanker!" Aster guffawed, throwing a pillow and hitting the pale boy in the face, before jumping at the sound of his cell phone ringing "Epic Chaos music group," he said in a completely serious tone that gave no clue to the earlier laughter "how can I help you?"

North sighed in relief as Jack gave a snarky grin to the older boy then ducked back into his bunk "Back to business," the large Russian said as he half listened to Aster's phone conversation "what are we going to do about Pitch?"

Sandy shrugged and signed _"Nothing we can do, if we report it, the agency will think we're whiny and the chances of signing on for another tour would be cut down considerably."_

"Sandy's right," Tooth nodded halfheartedly "but at the same time, we can't just ignore it."

"Yeah…yeah…of course…" Aster spoke into his cell phone, throwing his family an 'ick' face at the way the conversation was going "No, of course we don't mind…yes…Yeah, we know 'im."

North raised an eyebrow at Aster, who signed to him _"It's the agency they're telling me that Pitch's group are the new guys on the circuit and will be accompanying us on the tour instead of the other group."_

"Man," Tooth moaned dropping her head to bang it on the table "I liked the other guys…there is just something nice about having the second group be a band called 'Cannibalistic Monkeys'."

"Yeah," Jack yelled "people will be more likely to remember us because their name stinks."

"Go to bed, ya bloody drongo!" Aster bellowed reaching up behind him to smack Jack's face from where it was peeking out before wincing and face palming "No sir, I didn't mean you! …Who did I mean? … Our drummer…yeah, kids these days … He needs a proper bedtime if he expects ta stay a part of the band."

Jack opened his mouth to shoot back a retort in defense of his dignity, but it died in his throat when Aster turned around with a smoldering green glare signing _"I'm going to kill you if you say one. More. Word!"_

The boy stuck his bottom lip out in a pout before disappearing again back behind the curtain and flopping onto his bed with a huff. Tooth smiled, and shrugged, making North cover his mouth in a vain attempt to hide his laughter. Sandy just gave a broad grin, and laughed silently at Jack's obvious dislike at his current status of 'grounded'. Aster however was pacing the small sitting area of their motor coach, his face serious as he continued listening to their agent.

"So where are we heading next sir?"

The Aussie dove forward, shoving his glasses back up the bridge of his nose before grabbing a pen and furiously scribbling down the names of the places they were heading. "Sounds awesome sir!... Uh, no sir, we don't say 'rad' anymore…or shway…how about we just stick with cool?...A'right, thank you sir…Good night."

Hanging up, the dark haired twenty three year old paused before jumping up in the air with a whoop "We got San Francisco!"

"Seriously!" Tooth shrieked.

"Yep!" Aster said as he grabbed her and started to whirl her around in a celebratory dance "We are doing Pier thirty-nine, right on the edge where ya can see Alcatraz!"

"Stylin'!" Tooth giggled as she spun in his arms and was pulled in for a dip "When?!"

Aster let her go, his face bright with a large grin "Right after we do Santa Maria, we'll be heading ta San Francisco…AND…if they like us…we will get invited to go do a show in LA!"

North, Tooth, and Aster burst out in exuberant shrieks and screams, while Sandy stood up and started dancing. Jack pounded on the wall of his bunk "Hey," he yelled over the cacophony "grounded kid, trying to sleep here!"

Tooth bit her bottom lip, her lavender eyes lighting up as she wiggled her hips and started a mantra "We got San Fran-cis-co! We got San Fran-cis-co!"

Aster threw back his head and let out a long laugh before he and North joined in "We got San Fran-cis-co! We got San Fran-cis-co!"

Soon the four adults were chanting the mantra and doing a conga line down the center of the live-in bus going down the kitchen and living area, between the two sets of bunk beds and down the hall, before turning around and going back down to the front of the motor coach. Jack sighed, and poked a pouting face from between the curtains.

"Seriously?!" he asked in indignant shock "The night I'M grounded and sent to bed early is the night you guys decide to do a conga line? How rude."

North laughed, ruffling Jack's head "Do not worry Jack, I promise that I will make it up to you and we will do sightseeing when we get there."

"Really!" Jack's face brightened "You promise?"

"Yeah ankle biter," Aster panted as he plunked himself down at the table his wreathed with a happy grin "where do ya wanna go?"

"Alcatraz!" Jack said his eyes alight with plans for adventures "No wait… how about the fisherman's warf?! Or the Golden Gate Bridge! Oooh oooh, we should go to…CHINA TOWN!"

Tooth laughed gaily at Jack's excitement "I agree, to all of that!"

"Sounds good ta me!" Aster smiled.

"Indeed!" North nodded "We should definitely have fun while we're there!"

"Then we've got ourselves a plan!" Jack cackled maniacally "And if any of you think I'm going to sleep now, yer all crazy!"

The adults groaned as one, all picturing the terrors that awaited them in the form of a hyperactive Jack. Aster turned to their DJ, his eyes full of pleading "Think ya could knock him out?"

"I heard that!" Jack yelled.

"Bunny!" North yelled using Aster's nickname "You are not going to hit my baby brother, not physically, or indirectly."

"Thanks for sticking up, North."

"Fine," the Aussie shrugged "YOU stay up all night with him."

North wilted "On second thought," he said softly "who has a tranquilizer dart?"

"HEY!"

…..

Across the lawn on the other side of the convention center was another RV motor coach, pure black with dark purple lettering. Inside, Pitch sat at the table, gently tuning his guitar and giving it a strum every now and then. His topaz eyes, the only thing that connected him to his twin, almost seemed to glow in the light of the nearby lamp as he focused on his instrument. Nearby, one of his band members walked over and sat across from him, his face wearing a big smile practically dripping with blissful unawareness.

"So, your baby bro is here," he said casually "sounds like fun times."

"JJ," Pitch drawled "you're new, so I won't hold your ignorance against you this time, but please remember that in this band we prize using our heads before opening our mouths."

JJ felt his jaw drop in shock as he backpedaled away from the intimidating figure sitting on the bench across from him "Oh," he stammered "sorry man, I didn't know that there was stuff going on between you and your brother."

"It's more than just 'stuff'," Pitch spat his eyes boring holes into his band member "and if you want to stay in our group then I suggest you shut up now and toddle off to bed."

JJ bit his lip, feeling his temper rising, but decided against going into a verbal battle against the leader of the band. With a huff he stood up and strode off to his bunk, softly muttering under his breath about over dramatic people who can't or won't learn how to properly handle social situations. Pitch rolled his eyes as he sneered at the ignorance of the new guy before turning back to his instrument.

"Just you wait Sandy," Pitch murmured with malice "these next three months aren't going to just be fun, they're going to be the best…for me at least."

Standing up, he walked to the window of the motor coach, and stared across the lawn to the RV belonging to his twin's band, and judging by the shadows, they were celebrating something. Oh well, wherever they were heading, Pitch was determined to do everything in his power to destroy Epikaos. He already had a plan in motion, and should all go well, not even one of them will ever be able to pursue careers in the music business ever again. Bracing a fist against the glass, Pitch leered at the brightly colored RV, his eyes swimming with hate and evil intent.

"I hope you're ready little brother," Pitch practically purred "because this is going to be the summer that your entire life changes…for the worst!"

**This is just a little something to tide you guys over until I get to the one shot request from TimeTrixter22. I am working on it now, and so it will be the next chapter. **

**Hope you enjoyed the latest edition of my Humans AU with the Guardians. Hang tight!**

**And REVIEW!**


	46. Urban Legend

**Here is the request from Timetrixter22….well….it kind of is…**

**Ya see, they wanted me to have a chapter where Jack and the Guardians do an urban legend of some sort, but as I was researching Urban legends…I got this idea…and I can only say it made me do a BIG evil grin MWAHAHAHAHAHA!**

**ENJOY! And…I do NOT own ROTG…**

"Oi, where's Snowflake?" Bunny wondered aloud "We're havin' a meetin', he should be here."

North sighed, an amused smile lighting his face as he turned to the Easter Bunny "Jack asked if he could skip," he explained casually "apparently tonight is Halloween and Jaime is having party, Jack wanted to be at the slumber party."

"Aw!" Tooth gushed "how sweet! Jack's very first slumber party!"

Sandy gave two thumbs up while Bunny rolled his eyes "Yeah, yeah, yeah," the anthropomorphic rabbit said with a dismissive wave of his paw "it's real cute, I'm sure he'll have a great time while we do all the hard work."

"Don't be like that Bunny," Tooth scolded "he's only been a Guardian since spring, besides he's been working _very_ hard, and comes to our meetings when he's able."

Aster rolled his eyes, but didn't argue, in truth Jack _had_ been trying very hard to take his new responsibilities seriously and though he was more than usually late, he still made it to most if not all their meetings "Fine," he conceded "I admit that him not bein' here is rare, so what do the munchkins have planned, did Jack say?"

"Something about trick or treating and then telling scary stories," North shrugged.

"Scary stories?" Aster asked incredulously the alarm bells going off in the back of his mind "On Halloween?"

Sandy nudged Tooth, and winked, causing her to begin giggling "What Aster," the fairy teased "worried about our little Snowflake?"

"What?!" Aster scoffed "Why would I be worried about the ankle biter?!"

"Because," Tooth shrugged with a small smile "he's the youngest member of our team, it's his first slumber party with a group of friends, and they will be telling scary stories."

Aster crossed his arms with a huff as he leaned back in his chair in seeming nonchalance "The kid can take care of himself," he grumped with an unconvincing gruff tone "besides, what could possibly happen?"

"Oh, many things could happen at a slumber party," North winked at Tooth making her cover her mouth to stifle a laugh "what if the boys rough house and Jack gets hurt? Or maybe he will get scared by the scary stories, and have a nightmare? Or, God forbid, what if the boys make fun of him and he ends up getting upset?"

Aster sunk further and further into his seat, his ears drooping with each example the large man gave, what if he was right? If Jack got hurt, the boys wouldn't know how to help him, and since he was a spirit, it wasn't like they could take him to the hospital. And what if they did make fun of him for something only children would see as a thing worth patronizing? Jack could get upset and accidentally turn the entire house into an ice cube, and then spend the next ten or hundred years feeling guilty. Aster chewed on his bottom lip in careful thought, what if he had a nightmare, and didn't have anyone to help him, and what if…what if because of Jack's fear…someone took notice.

"Oh many," Aster murmured his green eyes widening with a sudden revelation "they're gonna tell scary stories…PITCH!"

Jumping up Aster stomped on the ground "I'll be back in a tick," he yelled "just gotta check on Frostbite!"

Without another thought, the rabbit jumped down the hole, and after a moment of silence, the other three Guardians burst into uncontrollable laughter, Tooth throwing herself across the table and beating the wood with one fist as tears of mirth leaked from her eyes "OH!" she giggled "Oh he is just too EASY!"

"Indeed!" North guffawed "Bunny pretends not to like Jack, but he is like mother hen, he cannot let that boy do anything on his own without worrying his ears off."

Sandy rolled around on the floor as he melted into silent rounds of laughter while golden pictures depicted a small Jack walking along with a golden figure of Bunny sneaking behind him as it spied on his every move. Every once in a while, the figure of Jack would turn around, and the Bunny would hide ducking behind a bush, and then they would resume walking. Tooth nodded, and North slapped his belly as he laughed harder, they certainly had become a closer family and it was all thanks to a certain Winter Spirit.

Meanwhile….

"So, who's going first!" Jaime exclaimed.

Jack flew over to balance himself on a bedpost his grin never wavering as the group began to sort through their candy and begin to tell scary stories, while Claude stood up, and grabbed Jaime's flashlight "I've got one, and it's a true story!"

"Oooooooh!" was the collective response.

"This story was told to me by my dad, and it was passed on to him by his dad, and he was told it by his dad who witnessed the whole thing!" the boy embellished causing the entire room to quiet down as they listened to the tale.

"Back in 1904," the boy began as he turned off all the lights save for the flashlight which he put under his face "my great grandpa was a guard in our local insane asylum, but due to the dangerous kinds of people being put there, the people of our city quickly shut it down in order to protect themselves from the inmates that were living just down the road."

Jamie turned to Jack "Is that true?"

Jack thought back, and was actually shocked to remember this incident "Yeah," he answered slowly "I remember this, the old asylum building is actually still near the edge of town, but it's completely blocked off by a large cement wall."

"Jaime," Monty huffed "would you expect anything less from me? Now, if you are done fact checking, let me finish my story!"

"Sorry," Jaime grinned as he settled into a comfortable spot to hear the rest.

"Now, as I was saying," the boy cleared his throat "my great-grandfather worked there, and it was his job to transport the inmates to a new facility outside of the city limits in another county, but something went wrong."

The room gasped at the ominous voice, and Jack felt his memory go back over one hundred years earlier to the night he saw a terrifying occurrence strike the unsuspecting driver, seeing it play before his eyes like some kind of ghostly drama as the boy continued his tale. "You see," the kid said as he grinned wickedly at his avid listeners "the transport that my Great-grandfather was driving crashed, and some of the inmates escaped, eventually all of them were caught…except one. His name was…"

"The Bunny man…" Jack murmured in unison with the kid his blue eyes wide with horror "I had forgotten…about him."

"You remember him?!" Jaime, Caleb, and Claude squeaked, the story made all the more scary by the fact that a three hundred year old spirit was validating it.

"Yeah," Jack said softly before falling silent.

"You bet he was real," Monty cackled "the reason for his name, was because rumor has it that he murdered his wife and children on Easter Sunday, right after he had dressed up in a Bunny suit for the local egg hunt."

Jack shuddered, he knew that all too well, and was even there when Bunny found the kids. He would never forget the howl of agonized pain and fury that escaped the Pooka's mouth when that happened, it was probably the only time Jack had ever seen Bunny break down from that tough guy façade he insisted on keeping up. As far as he knew, it took a long time for any of the kids from this city to begin having Easter egg hunts again, sixty-four years to be precise.

"He…He murdered them?" Claude shivered.

"Yeah," Monty spoke in a spooky voice "he chopped them up, with an axe."

The boys all gave a small whine, Monty however was just getting warmed up "The story goes," the boy continued "that he was loose for the longest time, and would go to bridge overpasses or small tunnels, and murder anyone who came through. His signature, was that he would leave a skinned rabbit, hanging from a tree nearby the body."

"Did they ever catch him?" Caleb quavered.

Monty grinned maliciously before turning to the winter spirit "Well Jack, did they?"

"Yeah," Jack sighed "they did, but not in the way they expected."

"How?" Jaime said with wide eyes.

"They police were pursuing him," Jack said in a faraway voice, as if he were reliving the story all over again "I remember the sounds of the dogs barking, and people yelling, and this crazy looking man running underneath my tree towards a tunnel bridge that had a train overpass going across the top. I knew exactly who he was, and followed him, trying to think of some way to slow him down for the police. I had to time it perfectly, because if I didn't, he would escape."

The boys listened in silence, even Monty listened with a mouth hanging slack as he absorbed the tale "My moment came at the bridge," Jack said softly "he was running across it, and I iced the track to make him slip and fall. The cops were right behind us, and I was hoping that they would take him away, but something…awful…happened."

"What?" the group asked in unison.

"A train," Jack whispered with fearful blue eyes staring into the darkness "he was hit by an oncoming train, and the last thing we heard was the sound of his insane laughter echoing into the night."

Jaime, Claude, and Caleb sat in terrified silence while Monty jumped up "The story doesn't end there," he proclaimed proudly.

"Are you serious?!" Jaime said in a horrified whisper.

"YEAH!" Monty grinned "My great-grandpa said that he doesn't believe that the Bunny Man is really dead, and he still haunts Bunny Man Bridge. They say, that he is still looking for the person responsible for his death, and anyone who walks through the bridge at night will come face to face with a man in a Bunny suit carrying an axe."

"If he's still looking for the person responsible for his death," Claude spoke in a hoarse whisper as he turned to the sprite "then that means he's looking for you Jack."

A stab of fear pierced Jack's now rapidly beating heart, and he struggled to come up with a logical rebuff.

"That's not true," Jaime cut in causing Jack to let out a relieved sigh "Ghosts aren't real, especially ghosts of dead homicidal megalomaniacs!"

"Oh yeah?" Monty challenged "Then what about Jack? He's a spirit, and he's real, why not a ghost from a hundred years ago?"

"Well…" Jaime spluttered "because that's…that…I don't know?"

Suddenly Jack was hit with a very powerful feeling to escape and run away, far from stories that were linked a little too closely with his past "Uh," he laughed nervously "I just remembered that I have a meeting that I need to get to, and am already monumentally late for."

"What?" Jaime wailed "But we haven't even finished telling scary stories, and we still need to go out and play pranks on the girls!"

"Unless," Monty grinned evilly "you're leaving because you're...CHICKEN!"

"I am not!" Jack quickly defended.

Alright then, prove it!"

Jack stared at Monty, the usually quiet kid was strangely commanding tonight, but regardless of that fact, the winter spirit knew he had to defend his dignity lest he be laughed out of Burgess by the very kids he had sworn to protect. "Fine," Jack growled "what do I have to do?"

Monty pondered the thought for a moment before pinning Jack with a look full of malicious intent "You have to go to the Bunny Man Bridge, and walk all the way through it, but halfway through you have to prove you did this by taking a picture with Jaime's camera phone."

Jack felt dread sink to the bottom of his stomach like a ten ton weight before finally swallowing his fear and giving a firm nod loaded with resolve "Give me the camera!"

Jaime handed Jack the phone, his brown eyes full of concern, and just as Jack turned to go Monty yelled after him "And remember Jack, you have to _walk_ all the way through the tunnel, and take plenty of pictures."

…..

Jack approached Bunny Man Bridge, his fingers twitching as he struggled to maintain a calm attitude. All he had to do was walk through the stupid tunnel, take a picture, and get out. Fumbling with the smart phone, Jack navigated through the screens with trembling fingers till he made it to the camera, and pressed the button so that the lens was facing towards him and not away. Rubbing his arms, Jack took a deep breath, he didn't believe in vengeful ghosts, he didn't. Even though, technically he was by all rights a zombie, since he had been dead. And if he was a spirit brought back from the realm of the dead, who's to say that the Bunny man didn't somehow cheat death and become a spirit bent on avenging himself on Jack?

"No!" Jack spat as he reared back his hand and gave himself a firm slap across the face "I am not afraid of a silly ghost story, the Bunny Man doesn't exist, he died…the end."

Raising his arm, Jack snapped a picture of himself walking down the wooded trail, and then raised his chin and proceeded towards the spooky tunnel.

It was everything a haunted bridge ought to look like, with dark shadows, arcing across the entrance from the moonlight, and an even darker interior. Giving a heavy gulp of apprehension, Jack took several deep breaths, took a couple pictures of the tunnel, and dove inside. His hands clenched into tight fists, Jack kept his eyes firmly on the exit just a scant twenty feet ahead, his heart hammering in his chest as he practically ran towards the other side, but something made him stop dead in his tracks. A shadow to be more specific. From out of nowhere, Jack saw the shadow of an approaching person start to grow as they walked up towards the bridge, and as Jack's mouth began to go dry, and his chest heaved in quick shallow breaths, a tall shadowy figure with two large rabbit ears on its head appeared at the exit.

Jack stood stock still, his breath merely a labored wheeze as a smile whine of fear built in his throat. The figure stopped, the shadows still hiding his face "Jack," it rumbled "I was just comin' ta see ya."

Suddenly all rational thought left the boy's head as he began to scream bloody murder "It's the BUNNY MAN!"

Turning around the boy attempted to run away, but only succeeded in accidentally running face first into the wall of the tunnel. Turning again, Jack again tried to escape, but his face had another date with a wall but only on the other side of the tunnel. With a small groan, the boy slid to the ground in a swoon, and was unconscious before his head hit the pavement. The shadowy figure ran forward, his furry arms wrapping around Jack's unconscious frame, and giving it a gentle jostle.

"Jack," he whispered "Jackie!"

The winter spirit groaned, and his eyes fluttered open only to once again register that he was till at the bridge, and the sprite once again began to scream "Leave me alone! I didn't mean it, just go away!"

"What are ya talkin' about? Oi Jack, HEY!" The figured cried trying to pull the now scrambling Jack towards him.

The winter child bucked, thrashed, bit and wiggled in his attempt to escape "It wasn't my fault," he screamed "I don't wanna die!"

"Yer not gonna!" Aster finally screamed making the boy pause.

"A-Aster?" Jack quavered "Kangaroo, is that really you?"

"O' course!" Aster huffed "who do ya think it would be?"

"Well…" Jack ducked his head in embarrassment "perhaps…maybe…the Bunny Man?"

Bunny felt his heart seize with the mention of that name, and an unexplainable anger bubbled up within him "Is that what this is about," he snarled "are ya going along with some idiotic dare over an urban legend?"

A blush stole across Jack's cheeks and he nodded dumbly.

Aster was astounded "Somehow I knew this would happen," he huffed "why would ya go along with this, don't ya know that the guy is dead and the story is nothin' more than that…a story?"

"I know he's dead," Jack grumbled as he picked at his shirt sleeve miserably "I was there the night it happened…it was my fault for making the ice that he slipped on."

"So was I…wait…that ice was you?" Bunny looked shocked "and all this time I thought I was the only person there that night."

"What?" Jack asked incredulously.

"I was there the night he died," Bunny reiterated "and I had thrown my boomerang ta knock him down and help the cops catch him."

"You…You hit him," Jack repeated numbly "with your boomerang?"

"Yeah," Aster nodded with a chuckle.

"How?"

"Well," Bunny crossed his arms as he gave the ground a pensive glare "I think because the guy dressed up like the Easter Bunny, and let's face it he was downright wacko, he had enough belief in him for my boomerang to make just enough contact."

"So…" Jack said slowly "you hit him with your boomerang, and I made him slip…but in the end, we don't really know who made him fall?"

"It was his own fault," Bunny said gravely "Because I missed him, and I watched him actually hit the ice but regain his footing, what cost him his life was his foot getting caught between the train tracks."

Warm relief flooded Jack's being and a large smile decorated his face "Thank God," he sighed happily "I've been carrying the guilt around for that night for over a hundred years…it's nice to know it wasn't my fault he died."

"Yeah," Bunny said ruffling Jack's head fondly "so ya didn't answer my question, what'cha doin' out here at this time of night?"

Jack sighed "I had to prove I wasn't scared…so I came out here to walk through the tunnel and take a picture of me doing it."

"Ah, I get it," Bunny intoned "a slumber party dare."

"Yeah," Jack muttered in embarrassed silence.

"Well," Bunny grinned "how about we show them the real Bunny Man?"

Jack looked up and was met by a mischievous wink and an evil smile, which of course, the Guardian of Fun couldn't help but return.

…

"What's taking him so long?" Jaime fretted.

"What Jaime," Claude laughed as he struggled to hide his own nervousness "ya think that the Bunny Man got him?"

"Well," Jaime said as he wrung his hands helplessly "we came face to face with the Boogeyman, why wouldn't other spirits exist?"

"Why not indeed," Monty smiled "I bet Jack got scared and ran away, especially considering he is the one the Bunny Man wants revenge on!"

"Shut up Monty!" Jaime yelled.

"Yeah man," Caleb joined in "you're going too far, besides we all know that there is absolutely, definitely, no possible way that the Bunny Man could exist!"

Suddenly all the lights went out, making the boys scream, and a howling wind attacked the window causing it to clatter within the pane. Scuttling into a tight group, the boy cast fearful eyes on the moonlight window frame, only to see the shadow of two ears slowly begin to peek up from the bottom. A shadowy figure stood in front of their window, and in one furry paw, held a gleaming axe. The boys shook and trembled, and with quick movements the creature flung open the window waving the axe and screaming at the top of its lungs.

The boys fell all over themselves screaming, and quickly ran from the room down the stairs to where Jaime's parents were sitting in the living room. Aster fell on the floor, laughing so hard he could barely breathe, and Jack quickly joined him, looking through the pictures he had taken on the phone of Jaime and the other boy's reaction to Bunny's prank. Melting into another round of laughter, Jack exchanged an exuberant high five with the rabbit, his face stretched by the wide grin currently adorning it.

"That was AWESOME!" Jack cackled with glee.

"Yeah," Bunny nodded "that was pretty fun."

"But I think you may have overdid it," Jack sighed as he listened to Claude, Caleb, and Monty leave the house and head to their respective homes in haste "the party is officially over."

"Maybe here, mate," Bunny winked "but I happen ta know where North keeps his special stash of candy, and I bet we could put a hurt on it while watching a movie."

"Really!" Jack chirped "You would have a party with me?"

"Sure," the rabbit shrugged "why not?"

"AWESOME! I get first dibs on the movie!" Jack practically shrieked.

"Fine," Bunny agreed "but no horror films, I don't think ya quite have the stomach for it."

"I do too!" Jack scowled.

"Do not," Aster grinned.

"Do too!"

"Do. NOT!"

"Prove it!" the winter spirit finally pouted.

Bunny turned around, and smiled maliciously at the child "Two words," he whispered ominously "Bunny. Man."

Jack's jaw fell in shock "You jerk," he yelled "that doesn't count due to the traumatic circumstances surrounding it."

Bunny nodded "I accede to your point, but that still doesn't explain why ya were so scared of a little ghost story."

"Whatever Kangaroo," Jack sniffed "one day we'll see just who has a stronger tolerance for ghost stories, but until then, I need sugar so consider yourself lucky."

Bunny laughed and flicked Jack on the back of the head as the leapt into his tunnel. Soon the two were eating North secret stash of candy and leaving the wrappers in the elves barracks, while popping in a movie called The Nightmare Before Christmas. All in all it was a memorable first Halloween among humans and the Guardians alike, but little did Jack know that the next summer, he would find out the answer to his question on just how tough Bunny was when it came to Ghost Stories.

**So there it is. **

**Timetrixter22, I know it isn't exactly what you requested, but to be perfectly honest I was never one of those kids who did Urban Legend dares…I actually don't even know any and had to use Google just for this chapter LOL.**

**I hope you liked it!**

**And once again People…REVIEW! And any ideas or requests you guys want to give concerning Human Bunny, or anything else for that matter, I will look at and pick which ones would go best with the basic plotline.**

**See you next time!**


	47. Off Season

**So I've been thinking about what Jack would be like during his off seasons, and it appears to be an accepted idea that he would either hibernate, or just be really low key and slightly off balance during summer. So I thought, why not write a really cute fic where he is utterly adorable and trying to stay awake…with maybe a touch of angst…because I'm evil like that.**

**No, I do not own ROTG**

Summer time…

Those two words often fill most people with visions of a golden beach with waves crashing while a bonfire crackles on the sand. Others think of a sun bathed park full of the laughter of those enjoying its grass covered fields, or maybe even cheering on a local baseball game. Regardless of what you may think when you hear the word summer, there is one person who has a decidedly different point of view over summer, and he is one who rarely ventures out when it warmer than it needs to be for a snow day. His name is Jack Frost, and this is his very first summer among the Guardians.

…

"Oi North!" Bunny yelled his nose firmly buried in a newspaper as he walked down the hall towards Santa's office "Ya gotta see this mate, some idiot is tryin' ta bully some poor woman fer growing a garden in her yard. Honestly, what is the world comin' to-OOF!"

Bunny pitched forward, landing face first on the floor, and tumbling forward a few feet. Picking himself up, the rabbit whirled around to see Jack sitting on the floor with his back propped up against the wall, and his legs splayed out across the hallway. "Fer heaven's sake," Bunny grumbled "Kid, what's yer problem?!"

But the only response the Easter bunny received was a small snore, and that was when Aster realized that Jack was sound asleep. Whiskers twitching in amusement, the rabbit struggled to keep the chuckles that so badly wanted to crawl up his throat in check. Hopping forward until he was sitting on his haunches in front of the sleepy winter spirit, Bunny gently poked the boy, snickering when Jack slowly slid down the wall sideways, and landed on the floor with a soft thump. The winter child smacked his lips while curling his legs up into the fetal position, and then brought his hand to his face in order to nibble on the knuckle of his thumb while his other hand clutched his staff firmly against his chest, all before letting out a contented sigh and slipping even further into oblivion. The scene was too adorable for Bunny, and soon he let out a soft chuckle before shaking his head in fond amusement and standing up to let the sleeping child lie.

"Bunny!" North's voice boomed inside his office before the large man himself burst through it his features etched in worry "I hear you yelling, and then I hear a crash, is something wrong?"

"Nah mate," Aster snickered "I just tripped over the ankle biter over there."

"Huh?" North looked down and finally noticed Jack sleeping on the floor and let out a guffaw at the sight "Ah, he finally made it up the stairs!"

Long ears twitched in interest at even more prospective blackmail and Bunny smirked "Oh?" he practically purred as he shot North a conspiratorial grin "What do ya mean 'finally made it up the stairs'?"

"Well," North shrugged as his eyes twinkled at their newest discovery over their little winter sprite "it is Summer, Jack's off season, apparently he goes into a type of hibernation during this time and can't seem to stay awake. Poor boy has been trying to make it up stairs all day."

This was all too much for the poor Pooka and Bunny found himself running into North's office so that he could enjoy a good laugh without disturbing their youngest "That...Tha's just adorable mate," he guffawed his sides quivering with laughter "poor kid probably doesn't even realize where he is."

"Probably not," North chuckled as he eased himself into the chair behind his desk "but at least he is safe here and not out sleeping in some patch of wilderness with no one to protect him."

"Agreed," Aster nodded.

Soon the two were lost in idle chit chat discussing recent events, and neither noticed a rather bedraggled looking teen mosey through the door and stand there staring at them through bleary eyes. Jack didn't quite know what he was thinking, all he knew was that he wanted something soft to lay on, and for some reason the teddy bear he had started out with had run away. Clouded blue eyes gazed wearily around the room in an unfocused gaze, until he spotted something gray and fluffy. A small smile quirking his mouth, Jack shuffled forward until he was next to said fluffy thing then plopped back onto the floor. Aster gave a small jump at the sound, and looked down in time to see Jack lean into his side, and rest his white head on the rabbit's thigh. His pale mouth stretched wide from a yawn, causing his jaw to pop, and then curled up with his staff and fell back into the rhythm of sleep accompanied by small breathy snores.

Aster rolled his eyes and gestured at the kid "Blatant trespass o' my personal space," he grumbled "and yet I can't find it in myself ta get mad at 'im."

North gave a warm chuckle "We had better get used to it," he smiled "because he is going to be like this every summer from here on out."

Bunny dipped his head down and snuffled Jack's temple, giving it a gentle nudge and smiling when the child sighed and snuggled closer to the furry limb "Well," the rabbit finally sighed "at least the little blighter's cute during this season, and not annoyin' the way he usually is."

North nodded "You should see how many pictures Sandy has taken," the large man whispered as if Jack could overhear "we have much evidence of his sleepwalking."

"Now that, I've got ta see!" Aster chuckled as one paw absently stroked the white head resting on his lap.

"Yes," the large man shook with silent laughter "they are quite cute, no?"

"Yeah," Bunny murmured as he looked down and shook his head at the snoring spirit "I'd better get this tyke to his room, wouldn't want him ta get stepped on by a yeti, or experimented on by an elf."

"Good idea," North nodded "tuck him in nice and tight, the boy tends to wander."

"Right"

Without another word, the anthropomorphic rabbit bent down and scooped up the sleepy spirit and hopped out of the office and down the hall towards the guest room assigned to Jack while North finished building his room. Halfway there, the precious bundle began to move and shift, and weary blue orbs slowly fluttered open to look on the person carrying him.

"Bunny?" Jack asked in a voice hoarse from sleep.

"Hey snowflake," Aster smiled fondly "I'm just takin' ya ta yer room so ya can finish yer nap out there, sound good?"

Jack gave a weak nod "Yeah, ok" he yawned before turning his face into Bunny's shoulder and giving it a snuggle "Your fur's really soft." He murmured absently between yawns "Never noticed…before."

"And you kid," Bunny snickered "must be pretty out of it if yer complimentin' my fur."

"I'm not out of it," Jack pouted as his eyes slipped closed and his head began to nod as he fought sleep "I'm just…just…sleepy."

"Uh-huh," Bunny chuckled "thanks for tellin' me, I never would have noticed."

"Shut up…Kanga…roo…"

Once again snores rose from the fatigued child, and Bunny laughed at the boy's weakness during his hibernation cycle. He may be the rough and tough hellion during the colder months, but Aster couldn't wait to tease Jack over how cute he was during the summer. Soon the duo was in Jack's room, and Bunny had the boy firmly tucked in bed and opened the windows to allow a nice cool breeze to come through. Running a paw through the kid's hair, Aster gave it a tender ruffle before leaving the room, satisfied with the gentle snores coming from the bed.

Some hours later, Jack awoke, and looked around. He felt disoriented and couldn't remember how he had gotten back to his room, which only made him feel more insecure and uneasy. Suddenly he wanted to be back at his lake, wanted to feel the soothing ice on his cheek, and hear the familiar sounds of the forest singing him its lullaby. Completely forgetting that summer was in full swing in Burgess, the weary boy flew up and out his window, determined to reach his home.

Within just a few hours, which felt like an eternity to his fuzzy brain, Jack had reached his home but it was not as it was meant to be. Heat afflicted his senses, knocking his mind askew, and causing him to feel nausea roil in his stomach. Sinking down to the ground, Jack crawled into the shade of a nearby tree, his breath quickly becoming a labored wheeze from the humidity smothering him. A small whimper leaked from his lips, and the winter child struggled to stand to his feet, only to lean against the tree trunk and sway dangerously from side to side. He needed to find someplace cool to sleep, it was too hot here, and the heat was causing his body to ache and quiver.

With the unsure steps of one not completely coherent, Jack stumbled through the forest dragging his staff behind him, his face an unhappy pout as he looked for all the world like a lost child seeking safety "I's hot…" he whimpered "I's hot…so hot."

A blistering breeze swept past Jack, making him shudder in the way most people would if they were cold. Sweat began to pour down his face and get in his eyes making them sting, and the boy blinked rapidly, trying to wash away the pain burning the cerulean orbs. Looking up, Jack could barely make out the outline of the hot sun, and he could already feel his skin begin to heat up and burn due to the rays. North Wind caressed his face, worry laced through its rustle as it fretted over why its favorite spirit was so far south during the warm months.

Jack collapsed against a tree, his cheeks pink, and his chest heaving as he fought the gag crawling up his throat. Clutching his stomach, the boy doubled over with a pained groan, and began to violently wretch on the ground. His stomach convulsed as he spewed out the contents of his stomach, and his limbs trembled as he sunk to the grass, an agonized moan coming from the depths of his throat. Suddenly his hoodie felt like ten tons of lead and about as warm as ten fur coats. With frantic motions, he practically ripped it off of himself, relishing in the cool rush of air when he relieved himself of the cotton garment and was clad in just his white undershirt. Curling up on the ground, Jack writhed in pain as the heat caused his very bones to ache, and made his insides feel as if they were boiling.

A pained sob broke through already chapped lips, and North Wind swept down to gather him up in its folds and carry him to safety. An anguished scream ripped from the boy from the heat being carried on the wind, and it quickly let go, allowing the sprite to slump to the ground once more. Leaving his staff behind, Jack slowly dragged himself across the grass, the only thing on his mind was the cave up ahead that kept going in and out of focus as he made his way towards it. He crawled, stopping only to rest, or once again puke from heatstroke, for what seemed like hours he kept moving until he finally made it into the cool interior of the cave. Eyes fluttering closed, Jack finally gave himself up to sleep, and his mind instantly was assaulted by fevered nightmares, and the cave was soon filled by the agonized moans and sobs of the winter spirit.

…..

"NORTH!"

"What is it?" North said as he walked through the factory section by section armed with a clipboard and pen.

"We got a problem!" Bunny ran up behind the man, and somehow managed to spin him around only to grasp him by the shoulders and give North a panicked shake "And I mean, a HUGE problem!"

"Don't keep me waiting," North groaned "what is so horrible?"

"Jack escaped!" the Pooka cried "I left him nappin' in his room, but when I just went ta check on him, he's gone!"

"Bunny," North smiled reassuringly "it is fine, I told you, Jack sleep walks. Just take a run through the workshop, he probably hasn't gone far."

"Ya promise?" Bunny asked incredulously.

"I promise," North nodded clapping a hand on Aster's shoulder "we will find him before the end of the day."

…

**Three Weeks Later**

Bunny paced the workshop, behind him was a map full red pins marking the places he had looked, and beneath that was a specially crafted snow globe meant to work like a special walkie talkie. It had been three weeks, three weeks of endless searching, and emotional break downs from all of the Guardians including Sandy, and still they had found not even a hint of Jack Frost. Wringing his paws, the anthropomorphic rabbit hopped over to the snow globe, shook it, then whispered North's name. Immediately the face of the large Russian came into view, and Bunny anxiously waited for him to answer.

"Yes?" North said in an impatient tone.

"Have ya found him?" Aster asked.

"Bunny," the large man sighed "this is fifteenth time you have called me today, we are looking, and if I find something I will let you know."

"I know, I know mate," Aster groaned rubbing his face with both paws and scrubbing it hard "it's just…Snowflakes been missin' for almost a month, summer is at its hottest right now, and I'm gettin' a real bad feelin'…what if we don't make it in time?"

"I understand old friend," North nodded his image in the snow globe becoming serious "I feel it as well, but we will make it in time…I promise."

Bunny wilted at those words, the very same words that had failed him three weeks ago, but instead of speaking his thoughts the Easter spirit merely nodded and disconnected the conversation by giving the snow globe another firm shake. Sitting down on the chair nearby the map, Bunny popped another red pin in the area North had been designated to search, and then gave a grieved sigh. Bracing his arms on the desk, Bunny buried his face into his paws and grit his teeth against the overwhelming feeling of helplessness and failure.

"Please be ok Jackie," he whispered to the empty room "Please…please be ok."

…

Toothiana zipped through her area where she had been assigned to search for Jack, a spot near Burgess that they had already check three times, when suddenly a harsh wind blew through her, almost knocking her into a tree. The tooth fairy straightened up, her face indignant and impatient "Hey!" she yelled "North, South, or whichever wind you are, I don't have time for your games or bullying so leave me alone!"

The wind kicked up again, giving her a firm push, and the Tooth fairy opened her mouth to begin yelling again, only to be stopped by Baby Tooth. With anxious squeaks and chirps, the miniature fairy explained how the wind was Jack's friend, and Toothiana gave pause, her lips pursing as she pondered the possibility "Ok," she said in a voice barely above a whisper "if you know where Jack is, I'm willing to listen, so show me."

With a blast, the wind shoved and pushed, directing her towards the cave in increasing urgency. The Tooth fairy grit her teeth against the pain that each buck from the wind tore at her wings, she had to find Jack, for all of their sakes and especially his. Finally they arrived at the cave, and the fairy gasped in both relief and horror when she found and picked up the staff and discarded hoodie hidden under a bush. Entering the cave, she felt a sob rock her frame when saw the curled up form of the winter spirit. Rushing to his side, the fairy ran delicate fingertips through sweaty white bangs, and felt her heart break at his condition.

His face was sunken in, clinging to his skull, giving him an almost skeletal appearance and his skin was stained red from numerous nosebleeds that must have taken place over the course of the past few weeks. He had apparently done away with his shirt, and was dressed only in his ancient brown pants, but Tooth could clearly see his ribs sticking out prominently under his skin. Each labored breath was merely wheeze often accompanied by a wracking cough that caused his ribs to rattle audibly, making the fairy wince. His skin was bright pink from heatstroke, and a fever burned from the surface in waves that Tooth could feel without even touching him. Dark bags hung underneath his eyes, and his once bright blue eyes were dulled to a clouded incoherent azure.

Sliding her arms underneath him, she scooped him up in her arms, only to jerk to a stop when an agonized shriek resonated through the cave.

"NO!" Jack wept "H-HURTS!"

"I'm so sorry sweet tooth," Toothiana quavered through her tears "I know it hurts, but I promise, we'll make you all better soon."

His chest heaving in pained breaths, Jack gave a weak nod, and clenched his jaw against the screams of pain that wanted to rip their way out when Tooth once again snuggled him close. Rising into the air, she flew at her top speed back to Santoff Clausen, practically shattering the windows as she flung them open to enter into the workshop. Dropping to the ground in exhaustion, the fairy gladly gave the boy up to Bunny, who immediately clutched the child to his chest trying his best not to weep in relief.

"JACK!" North exclaimed as he and Sandy gathered around.

Bunny stroked the fevered face, his green eyes overflowing with both relief and sorrow at the child's condition "Jackie," the rabbit practically whispered "come on Frostbite, wake up, please say something!"

"Kang…a…roo?" Jack murmured in his half conscious state "That…y-you?"

"Yeah Jackie," Bunny nodded enthusiastically ignoring the fact that tears were quickly filling his eyes "I'm right here mate, and so is everyone else."

"Y-you…" suddenly the boy's voice was choked up as tears began to overflow in his eyes and spill down his cheeks "You…f-found…me?"

"Yeah, we did," the rabbit said gently as he gave soothing strokes to Jack's fevered face "yer safe now, Toothy brought ya home."

Jack opened his mouth to reply, but it was cut off by a violent sob, and soon the child burst into tears, clutching onto Bunny much in the way he had done just a scant month earlier when the Pooka had found him in the cave talking to his ice person. Bunny held him close, snuffling his head, and rubbing his back in comforting circles. Rocking back and forth, Bunny held him through his sobbing, allowing both his and Jack's relief at the winter spirit being home and safe flow through them. Tooth sobbed openly, gently stroking his head, and covering his face and hands in relieved kisses, promising over and over that they would never let something like that happen to him ever again. North sat by, apologizing to Bunny, to Jack, to anyone and everyone for what he felt was a personal failure for not taking better care of him.

Finally the emotional overload of finding Jack, and seeing his physical condition was over, and they were able to get the agonized child to his room, and begin sponging him down with rags wet by ice cold water. Jack succumbed to their ministrations, an occasional whimper slipping through his lips when the pain was too much, but after being soaked in an ice bath, and then carefully tucked into bed with the window wide open for the cold wind to blow through, he was soon in a deep peaceful sleep with his fever plummeting back towards his normal temperature. He would need time to recover, to regain his strength, and the Guardians were determined to be there to ensure that he knew that they wished to let him know just how much they cared.

Later that night, Bunny sat next to Jack's bedside, wrapped in a thick comforter, his emerald gaze never leaving the winter child's sleeping face. North sat nearby, his hands folded over his stomach, he too stared at the child as if he feared that the boy would somehow disappear right from under their noses. Suddenly Jack began to fuss, and thrash in his sleep, and Bunny dashed forward, pressing the wet pad of his nose against Jack's temple, giving it a comforting nuzzle. Immediately the boy calmed down, and reached out with tired fingers, gently stroking Bunny's nose in his sleep relishing the comfort it offered. Bunny didn't move, not caring about his dignity or masculinity for the moment, staying in his spot in understanding that Jack needed him.

"Bunny," North sighed across the room.

"Yeah mate," Aster replied in a hushed whisper "what is it?"

"Next summer, I am putting bars on Jack's window."

"…Good idea…"

**How was that for a little one shot fluff piece?**

**Ok, I am working on what will be the last chapter for Human Bunny, and like in Pooka Jack, it will be uber long! So I may not update on it for a while, but know that it IS coming! For now, read, REVIEW, and enjoy the weirdness that is my strange mind!**

**THANKS!**


	48. Surprise!

**Ok, in honor of my 1,000****th**** review, I am not picking one, but TWO winners for the REVIEW GAMES! **

**I know, I just decided this, and should have told you guys sooner, but it literally hit me last night. SO the winners are….*drum roll*….CGryffindorGrimm AND I. F. T. S.!**

**Congrats guys, send me your reviews, and I will type them up immediately, and remember, the usual rules apply. I do NOT do boyxboy or girlxgirl romances, and I prefer no gender benders. Ok? Looking forward to hearing your requests!**

**While reconnecting with my childhood, I decided to write this little drabble, merely because it sounded adorable.**

**No, I do NOT own ROTG**

"North, we need ta talk…"

North looked up and saw Bunny striding into his personal office, a concerned look on his face, while his eyes were dull with worry. The large man felt dread stir in his stomach, and immediately took off his reading glasses, giving Bunny his full attention.

"Is something wrong, old friend?"

"I'm worried about Jack," Bunny sighed.

Shock went through North's system and he felt an eyebrow rise in curiosity "Why would you be worried about Jack?" he asked incredulously "I thought you and he were getting along, and that things were going well for him."

"I thought that too, mate," Bunny shrugged as he sat down on a chair nearby the desk and propped one foot up on his knee "I mean, it's been two years since he became a Guardian and he's getting more believers every day, but…"

"But?" North encouraged as he leaned forward and braced his arms on the desk top.

"I don't know," the rabbit heaved another sigh was he rubbed his temples between two fingertips "I saw him the other day, and the kid looked lonely as anything. He practically went crazy tryin' ta make me feel at home near his lake when I popped in for a visit, almost like he was scared I would never come back if he didn't do everythin' in his power ta help me enjoy my visit."

"So," North spoke softly "you think he is…lonely?"

"Yeah," Aster nodded his voice barely above a whisper "I thought we were doin' better North, I thought that the kid had helped us move on from bein' workaholics with no time for anyone but ourselves, but I think I'm wrong."

"What can we do?" North said heaving his own grieved sigh "the fact is, we _are_ very busy, we have borders to patrol, children to protect, and it is very likely that Pitch may try something again in the near future. We cannot be there for Jack all the time, even though he is lonely."

"True," Bunny conceded "even in my off seasons, I still have to travel finding new flowers ta make inta paint for the next year, not ta mention the rounds we all put in making sure the children are safe. And ta make matters worse, it doesn't help us any when the kid could stay at one of our places but stays away."

"You know him Bunny," North rumbled as he leaned back in his chair and folded his hands across his stomach "he has only been Guardian for two years, and I am lucky that he even decides to come here during his off season. Because of our negligence he is still learning to trust us, and has yet to fully understand that he can come to us for anything."

"So what do we do?"

The question was posed with drooping ears, and green eyes so full of guilty misery it took every ounce of willpower within Father Christmas not to laugh "Well." The man shrugged "we can see about getting Jack a friend, something he can keep with him at all times."

Bunny's ears twitched in interest "Yeah," he murmured "I have my googies, you have elves and yetis, even tooth has her mini fairies, why shouldn't Jack have someone ta keep him company."

"I have an idea," the Russian said as he leaned forward with a conspiratorial grin accompanied by twinkling blue eyes "You know that the two year anniversary of him joining the Guardians is coming up soon…"

"We could throw him a party!" Aster exploded "we couldn't do it last year, and that way when we give him a present, Jack won't feel weird, or think it's a pity gift!"

"Exactly," North nodded in satisfaction "but what do we give him?"

"That's a good question," Bunny grumbled as he scratched the back of his neck thoughtfully "maybe a cat?"

"No," North shook his head "cats are too temperamental, and might not be good companion for Jack."

"Birds are too flighty," Aster sighed "a fish would freeze, and a dog…" the rabbit made a face of disgust at mere idea "a dog just wouldn't work…"

"Actually," North blinked as the idea struck him "a puppy would be perfect."

"What?! NO!" Bunny burst out "Have ya already forgotten what Jamie's dog almost did ta me? No, no way, no how, we are NOT getting some rabid canine that's hungerin' fer a bite o' rabbit!"

"And what," North asked with barely suppressed amusement "happened to the Bunny who is a master of Tai Chi with nerves of steel, or are you too afraid of a little puppy?"

"That…" Bunny squawked indignantly "Tha's just rude! A low blow tha's what that was!"

North let out a jolly laugh "It is ok," he consoled "if we get the animal young enough, it can easily be trained not to…hunt you."

Bunny pouted as his ears twitched giving away the hilarious battle of epic proportions being waged in his head over the pros and cons of a dog before he finally let out a sigh as his concern over Jack's wellbeing won out in the end "Fine…" he grumbled "let's get the twerp a dog."

"Fine," North nodded happily "I will take care of finding a suitable breed, you will be in charge of pulling together the party."

"Sounds good," Aster nodded as he stood up and tapped the ground "I wanna stay as far away from the little beast as possible."

North let out a long and loud laugh as the rabbit disappeared down a hole, then got busy researching dogs.

….

The next two weeks went by swiftly, with Bunny pulling Tooth into the Warren and getting her to help him decorate for the party, a request she was very eager to comply to. Sandy was partnered with North in training the puppy, and preparing him to meet Jack. When they had first gotten the dog, North had tricked Bunny into coming to Santoff Clausen, only to laugh his head off when the Pooka practically leapt into the rafters screaming his head off about a 'snarling rabid monster'. Soon enough though, Jack's surprise party was well on its way to being ready to spring on the still unsuspecting winter spirit.

Jack had been pretty busy the past couple weeks, what with spreading a light dusting of snow across North America before Easter, but he had tried a couple times to visit the Guardians. To be perfectly honest, Easter still left a squeamish feeling inside him, and he was worried that the Guardians would remember his failure of massive proportions every time it came around. Unfortunately that feeling only solidified when all of a sudden, he wasn't allowed in or near the warren, Tooth wasn't giving him the time of day, Sandy kept rushing off hurriedly placing his bowler hat over any picture that may pop up over his head, and Santa? Well North refused to let Jack in the workshop. It was the day before Easter when the frost sprite landed at his lake, and curled up on a tree branch, his heart aching with memories plaguing him about that fateful Sunday when he ruined Easter.

Hugging his knees to his chest, Jack took deep breaths, fighting the empty feeling that threatened to swallow him alive and blinking back tears that threatened to fall "I'm so stupid…" he muttered to no one in particular "Of course they don't want to see me, I would just remind them how it was my fault that Pitch almost won two years ago."

"Oi, Frostbite!"

Jack jumped, startled by the sudden voice shouting near his lake, and lost his balance effectively falling off the tree branch and landing on the ground with a loud splat in the mud.

"Crikey!" Bunny exclaimed as he ran over and lent the child a hand "ya ok mate?"

"Uh…yeah," Jack answered hesitantly as he watched Bunny swipe at the mud covering him.

"Good, good," Aster chuckled as he looked the boy over and then shook his head helplessly "ya know what? I think ya should just shower at the Pole and change inta some clean clothes there before we go ta the warren."

"Why am I going to your place?" Jack wondered as he followed Bunny a few yards away from the lake.

"Huh? Uh…." Aster scratched the back of his neck, he hadn't actually thought of what to tell Jack to get him to come to the warren, he had just assumed the boy would come "we're…having…a meeting!"

"A meeting," The sprite jerked back as his mind raced with fear and dread, were they going to discuss whether he was going to be allowed to stay a Guardian? "What kind of meeting?"

"A…special one…" The rabbit scrambled for words as he turned around with a barely concealed grimace at his ineptitude on keeping a secret from Jack without looking suspicious.

"Oh no…" Jack's chest heaved as he felt himself begin to hyperventilate "You…you guys…you're going to throw me out, aren't you?!"

"WHAT?!" Aster turned around his face slack in complete and utter shock, one foot frozen in the air from where he had prepared to make a tunnel "Where would you an idea like that?!"

"Well how do you explain being ignored for two weeks?" Jack burst out, his legs with trembling as he clutched his staff to his chest as if it were a shield against future hurt "I mean, you don't let me near the warren, and Tooth and Sandy can't stay away far enough, and then North locks me out of the workshop…I mean…what am I supposed to think? Except that you can't stand the thought of having someone who ruined Easter, someone like me, as a Guardian anymore!"

"What…Jack, no!" Aster rushed over to place his paws firmly on the violently shaking shoulders and lock eyes with wide fear filled cerulean orbs "We would never think that, ever!"

"Then…why?" the words came out a choked sob as two tears trailed down pale cheeks.

Aster sighed, knowing that he needed to keep the party a secret, but the looks Jack was giving him was breaking his heart "How about this," he finally murmured "we get ya cleaned up at North's and then we head over ta my place, and I'll have a nice long talk with ya and explain the past couple weeks, eh?"

Jack captured his bottom lip between his teeth, his gaze going to the ground as he weighed how much he really trusted Bunny's words before finally nodding "Ok, we can do that."

"Good," Aster nodded one paw ruffling the muddied white head "now, let's get ya washed up mate, because ya look like ya took a swim in a storm drain."

Jack nodded, still feeling insecure and unsure about the situation, but quickly followed after Bunny through the tunnel and into Santoff Clausen. Bunny waited while Jack took a lukewarm shower, cold enough where he didn't get burned, but warm enough to wash the impurities away, and then he changed into some spare clothes that the large man had a yeti make for him. A black hoodie with a neon blue lightning bolt down the front, and a comfortable pair of jeans, sans the shoes of course. And soon the duo were off towards the Warren, both worrying in their own way about what the near future held in store.

Sliding over the threshold of the main entrance, Jack looked around, searching for the other Guardians, when he suddenly noticed that Bunny was no longer there "Great," Jack muttered as he crept forward with tentative steps "just what I need, the rabbit pulling a Houdini."

Taking a deep breath, Jack suddenly decided to skip this so called 'special meeting', and lifted one foot as he prepared to march out of the Warren and back to Burgess. However he was not expecting a veritable ocean of googies to swarm his other foot, thereby tripping him, and thus began to carry the child back inside the main plaza of the warren. Jack let out a scream as he fell onto the eggs, and began to be carried by the multicolored flood through the tunnels at a surprising speed. His mouth hanging wide in surprise, the boy struggled to get off the ride, but quickly noticed that another group of eggs were carrying his staff away, meaning flying was no longer an option. Tilting his head back, Jack let out an audible groan at his current circumstances, before the eggs decided that they no longer wished to carry him. With a pop they threw him off of them, clacking in delight as he let out another yell, and slid down a natural slide lined with the same soft green moss as the tunnels.

Jack slid, doing loop-de-loops, and flying through the air, until he fell on a large leaf of a gigantic flower and gently slid down the foliage and onto the grass. By this time, Jack was fighting the grin desperately tugging at the corners of his mouth, determined to stay in his bad mood of cautious insecurity concerning the true motives behind Bunny bringing him here and then pulling his disappearing act. Heaving a sigh, Jack stood up, only to find himself completely surrounded by sentinel eggs.

"Honestly," he groaned "even when I'm dragged here by their boss, they still don't like me."

Without warning though, following the pattern of his day up to then, the sentinel eggs switched faces from mean to happy and smiling. They stepped aside in their lumbering footsteps, until Jack was given enough leeway to escape the threatening circle…and stand with his jaw dropping in shock at the sight that met his eyes.

Streamers…Hundreds, no thousands, of streamers hung around while countless little white lanterns floated though the air looking much like snow caught in the in between of Earth and Sky. And in front of the hole leading down into Bunny's living quarters, was a giant picnic blanket spread out on the grass, with a huge three layered cake, and various plates full of food. A grin slowly grew on his face as he took in the sights, but it was soon replaced by a look of utter shock when the Guardians jumped out from various hiding places shouting;

"SURPRISE!"

Sandy flew around in ecstatic circles, the word 'Surprise' floating over his head as he made little dream sand fireworks explode in the air. Jack felt his jaw drop yet again, and he blinked rapidly against the moisture gathering in his eyes.

"Y-you," he stammered breathlessly as a warm smile lit up his face "you planned this…for me?"

"Yep!" Tooth chirped happily "North and Bunny mentioned how the anniversary of you becoming a Guardian was coming up, so we decided to put together a little party for you!"

"Especially since," Aster cut in "last year we had that little egg hunt, but we didn't really get the chance ta celebrate ya joinin' the family."

A huge grin stretched across the sprite's face, causing dozens of mini fairies to drop to the ground in a swoon over the amount of teeth showing, and pale hands swiped at his eyes wiping away the tears that were threatening to fall "This is AWESOME!" Jack burst as he ran towards Tooth and nearly tackled her in a large hug before turning to Aster and giving him one as well "Thank you SO much!"

"We're glad you appreciate it," Tooth laughed gaily "but the party hasn't even started yet and we still have a special surprise!"

"A surprise?" Blue eyes widened even more at the mention of a present "SWEET!"

"Hey!" North bellowed with a pout "I put this together…where is my hug?"

Jack laughed, and sprinted at full speed at the large man, leaping into his arms with enough force to send the man back a couple steps "Thank you! Thankyouthankyouthankyou!"

North threw back his head in a jolly laugh "As Tooth has said, party has not even started yet, so…let's party!"

Without even the slightest hesitation, all five Guardians began eating, laughing, talking, and playing. Numerous games were enjoyed, and Jack was proud to say that he won most of them, and the funny part was everyone was trying really hard to beat him. What felt almost like the blink of an eye, suddenly all the guardians were quieting down, and North left the party with a wink towards Bunny, and the Pooka stood up clearing his throat so to garner everyone's attention.

"Jack," Aster smiled "I know that it hasn't been easy fer ya, and we aren't always around ta be there when ya need us, and for that we are sorry, but… we wanted ta make sure ya felt like a part of the family by giving ya a proper welcome, and givin' ya somethin' every Guardian needs."

Jack cocked his head in confusion "What do you mean?"

"Well," Aster chuckled his features suddenly becoming twitchy and nervous "we all have helpers, somethin' ta keep us company and help us in our jobs. I have my googies, North has yetis and elves, and Tooth has her fairies. Sandy is the only one who doesn't have somethin', but he can make anything out of his dreamsand, so I guess that kinda counts…anyway…we know how often we get busy, and North and I agreed that we should get ya a little somethin' ta help ya out and keep ya company."

Jack slowly stood as North backed out of Bunny's front door backwards, his arms wrapped around something that was wiggling around with exuberant energy. Azure eyes widened, and the grin that was already huge, somehow managed to get even bigger when the large man turned around revealing an armful of…

"A PUPPY?!" Jack burst out laughing as he ran forward and gathered the happy puppy into his arms and giggled like crazy as the dog began to cover the pale face in nonstop kisses "He's awesome!"

"The dog is a mix of German Shepherd and Norwegian Elk Hound," North explained "which means he can withstand cold, and is extremely intelligent and capable of even complex commands. He is a good companion, and as you can see, very affectionate."

"Yeah," Jack giggled as he sat on the grass with the wriggling dog "no kidding!"

"Ya just HAD to get the kid a mutt who's gonna be as big as a horse," Aster grumped "didn't ya?"

"What?" North cast innocent blue eyes over to the unhappy bunny "His size will make him good guard dog, and it will be easier for him to run through snow with longer legs."

"Yeah," Jack grinned "but for now, I think I'll just carry him around while he's still a little guy."

"Sounds good sweet tooth," Toothiana smiled as she reached out to pat the dog "so what are you going to name him?"

"Uh…" was the response from the winter spirit.

The puppy in question was a beautiful dog that was pure black with splashes of gold and white along his cheeks and his paws, and Jack couldn't be happier to get him, but what was he going to name the little guy? Snuggling his face deep into the dog's coat, Jack laughed as the puppy seemed determined to wash his face with endless kisses and licks, and began to think deep and hard about what name to give his new friend. The Guardians smiled at each other as they waited, and even Bunny was content to watch their youngest bond with his new helper.

"I don't know," Jack said his face falling in defeat as he cast forlorn eyes at the grass "I've never really named anything before."

"Hmm…" North pondered "Mimsy?"

"North, that's a girl's name!" Jack groaned as he vetoed the first suggestion.

"Not always," North pouted "Ashley used to be guy's name in England during 1800's, it wasn't until recently that it became for girl."

"NEXT!"

"Um…" Tooth buzzed around excitedly "I got it, I got it! How about, RAPTOR?"

"Cool name," Jack shrugged "but not quite the feel I think I'm going for."

Aster raised his paw in the air a small smirk on his face "How's about Sydney?"

The winter spirit burst out in a laugh "As in Sydney…Australia?"

"What?" Aster pouted "It's a good name."

"Yeah," the boy chuckled "maybe next time, if I get a collie or something."

Sandy tapped his finger on his lips, his thoughts focused on a name for the dog as he stared intently at the wriggling puppy before his face lit up and his dream sand wrote in the air _"Snickers…"_

Jack pursed his lips and looked down at the dog grinning up at him and smiled back at the puppy as he rolled on his back begging for a tummy rub. Leaning down, Jack complied, chuckling when a hind leg began to wiggle and twitch when the pale fingers hit a particular sweet spot. He liked the name Snickers, but something told him that this puppy wouldn't be so hyperactive and fun loving for his entire life, and that he would grow into a king among dogs. Jack wanted to name him something that would give him worth and pride in who he was. Suddenly his blue eyes lit up as he remembered a name that meant King, and the boy stopped scratching and picked up the puppy so that it was sitting in front of him.

"I hereby name you," Jack said solemnly "Rex."

"Rex," Aster murmured before giving a nod "Good name fer the mutt, he looks like he'll grow inta a Rex."

"Agreed," North chuckled "one look at his paws will tell you he will be huge."

"Rex," Tooth tested out with a giggle "yeah, he certainly has the bearing of royalty."

Sandy lifted two thumbs, and nodded his head enthusiastically, making Jack's features to split into a wide grin "Then Rex it is!" he said with a clap of his hands "Come here Rex, come on boy!"

The puppy burst forward, chasing Jack around the Warren before turning around with a bark and a wiggle of his butt. Prancing around on the grass, the puppy charged his second most favorite person, Bunny. The rabbit let out a shriek as the dog sprinted towards him at an astonishing speed for a dog so young, and jumped in the air wrapping his front paws around the rabbit's neck and tackling him to the ground. Aster tensed, as the dog kissed him and nuzzled him, rubbing his head up and down the rabbit's face.

"Will somebody get this dingo off me!"

"Aw Bunny," Tooth gushed "he loves you!"

"I don't want him ta love me!" Aster snarled "I want him ta love Jack, and stay away from me!"

"Too late for that, I think," North guffawed "it seems that he has already chosen you and Jack as his two favorite people!"

"Aww come ON!" The Pooka moaned as he dodged doggy kisses "will one o' ya help me out here!"

North stooped down and scooped the wriggly puppy up into his beefy arms, chuckles resonating from his large chest as the puppy kissed him "Jack, we have one last thing to do."

"What?" Jack paused in his laughing as he turned to North with a wide grin.

"Take Rex," North said gently as he handed the puppy over then reached into his pocket to pull out what looked like a glowing gold biscuit "this is ambrosia, and when eaten continuously after a period of time, it makes the person eating it to have immortality. We will feed Rex with this, so that he will grow up and stay young and strong forever and you will have plenty of time with your new friend."

"Really?" Jack asked wide eyed "You can do that?"

"Of course," North chuckled "I give this to the yetis when they made a treaty with me to work as my helpers."

"So that's how it works," Jack wondered aloud.

Stooping down, Jack fed the piece of ambrosia to his dog, smiling as the puppy wolfed it down hungrily. Patting him gently, Jack hugged him tight, and placed a kiss on his wet nose.

"Welcome to the family Rex."

**Congrats to the winners, and don't forget to REVIEW guys! Let's see if we can make this drabble hit a record high!**

**THANKS FOR READING!**


	49. Final Goodbyes

**Ok, I know this update took forever, but when you are like me and live on the road 24/7 in an RV, you don't always have time. Plus the fact I'm back into the full swing of fundraising for my next missionary trip overseas, and so I'm busy sewing hair bows to sell at churches.**

**If I do not update for a few days, it is because we are on the road in New Mexico and will be doing a series of church services on an Apache and Navajo Indian reservation. So I'm going to be extremely busy. **

**So this is CGryffindorGrimm's fanfiction request, which is basically a little fluff/angst piece…which of course you guys knows is my Kool-Aid MWAHAHAHAHA!**

**ENJOY!**

Tooth sat on the couch, a copy of the magazine of Dentist Weekly on her lap, but glanced up to give a silent giggle at her friend the Easter Bunny. Aster was sound asleep, curled up in a snoring ball in front of the fireplace, his nose and sides quivering as one foot twitched in the midst of a dream. The fairy hissed at North, who looked up from his book, and pointed at the Pooka causing the large man to give a low chuckle. The rabbit in question suddenly began to fuss, his breath coming in short grunts as he shifted in his sleep, rolling to his other side, and then stretched as a low whine whispered from his lips. Sandy smiled gently, floating over to pat Bunny's nose, gently giving it comforting strokes as the rabbit calmed and drifted back into oblivion. Shaking his head fondly, North sat back into his chair, and straightened his glasses as he dove back into his book.

It was in that moment that the quiet bunch relaxing in the sitting room heard a door gently shut from upstairs, and floor boards creak as light footsteps tread across them. The steps went over to the railing, and tooth could see Jack lean over and give a smile wave "Uh…goodnight!" the winter spirit chirped.

Tooth cocked her head in confusion but shrugged her shoulders and twinkled her fingers in a small wave "Night Jack," she replied.

"Good night son," North grunted with a smile while Sandy waved.

The winter spirit's eyes widened with surprise at the affectionate term, but then narrowed as he caught his first look at Bunny, and Jack gave a small laugh at the adorable scene before disappearing back behind the railing. Tooth looked over at North, her eyes glittering with suspicious curiosity

"North," she said quietly "Jack doesn't normally tell us good night, he usually just goes to bed when he feels like it, or ends up falling asleep while drawing…Something's up."

"I know," North nodded still immersed in his book "Jack doesn't know this, but him checking to make sure we won't follow, and saying goodnight to 'put us off scent', is dead giveaway that he is up to something."

"How do you know?" the fairy asked.

"Because I have checked," the large man chuckled as he licked a finger and turned a page "every time he says goodnight, within twenty minutes he is gone from room, snuck out to who knows where."

Toothiana giggled "Think it's a girlfriend?"

"No way," a soft voice muttered from across the room accompanied by a yawn.

"Ah Bunny," North smiled as he took his reading glasses off and set them on a side table along with the book "you are awake, good. So why do you not think it is girlfriend?"

"Because I would know if'n there was, that's why," the rabbit grunted scrubbing the sleep from his eyes with both paws "the little blighter would've told me."

"Are you sure?" Tooth teased "He's only been a Guardian for six months, and he obviously doesn't tell you everything. Just because he hasn't said anything about having a girlfriend doesn't mean that it isn't a possibility."

"I'm not saying it isn't a possibility," Aster shrugged from his spot on the floor "but I just don't think it's a girlfriend. If it were, then he would be actin' like a typical lovesick teenager, not sneakin' around at night and lookin' depressed durin' the day."

Sandy nodded as he jerked a thumb in Bunny's direction indicating that he had agreed with the Pooka's sentiment. Toothiana shrugged, as she rolled her eyes and turned back to North "So, what do you think?"

"I don't know," The man sighed as he spread his hands apart helplessly "I just know that he sneaks out."

"Have ya asked where he goes?" Bunny remarked as he propped his head up on his paw.

"Well," the large man chuckled nervously as he dropped his gaze to the floor "not really, I mean he only came here during the summer and I do not want to drive him away. Besides, I am technically not his father, so…"

"So basically…" Aster said slowly with a teasing grin "yer too chicken ta ask him where he goes?"

"I am not chicken!" North spluttered "I respect his privacy…that is all! If I were parent, then I would have right to ask, and make sure that he is not going anywhere bad, but I am not."

"I guess that only leaves one option then," Toothiana smiled wickedly making Bunny chuckle at her.

"Oh, and what is that?" the large man huffed.

"We follow him," Bunny finished while Toothiana giggled in the background.

Sandy clapped his hands excitedly, using dream sand to weave together army fatigues across his plump form and wearing a military helmet with bits of branches and leaves sticking off of it. Slinking behind the furniture like a top secret operative, the odd little man popped up every now and again with a pair of dream sand binoculars, before collapsing into a round of silent chuckles. Aster grinned, and Toothiana bit her bottom lip excitedly as they all turned to North, waiting for what he would say. The large man sighed, and rubbed his eyes with one hand as he considered the idea, and possible repercussions should they get caught.

"Alright," North moaned "we will follow…BUT…if we get caught I am not the one who thought of this."

"Sure mate," Bunny chuckled "whatever you say."

"Let's GO!" Tooth cheered as the group made their way to the sleigh.

Sandy sat down excitedly, his face decorated with a large grin as Bunny grumbled all the way to his seat, hunching his shoulders in discomfort at what he knew was inevitably going to happen. Tooth flitted to her spot, and North took his place at the front of the sleigh, gripping the reins in powerful hands. Within moments the group was in the air, following the beacon on North's world globe that indicated Jack's location, each one wondering just what said winter spirit was up to. They were not surprised to land in Burgess, nor were they very surprised that they ended up near his lake, but the real surprise was the actual destination that Jack was walking to in slow measured steps.

The cemetery…

Bunny felt his ears drop to the back of his head as a distinct feeling of unease burst in his stomach "Uh…Guys," the rabbit said softly "I'm not thinkin' this is such a good idea anymore."

"Too late, we are already here," North whispered back "we might as well see what he's doing in a place like this."

Aster gave a heavy gulp of apprehension, and then nodded, shuffling forward as the group followed Jack in his somber march between the tombstones.

Jack walked past the newer graves, back to the stones blackened with age, and worn by time. His fingers grazed each tombstone with caresses light as a feather, his face blank as he walked down the path in a way that suggested he had come here often enough to know where every stone or root was that could trip him and where to direct his steps gracefully weaving between the grave markers. Finally he came to a stop in front of a plot of land with four stones standing in silence, the winter child bent his knees, resting on the balls of his feet as he turned sober eyes to the gravestones in front of him.

"Uh…He-Hey," he choked out his voice hoarse and constricted "I'm back…ya know…to talk. Well, at least I'll be the one talking, and you guys listen…because you can't…you know…talk."

Bunny bit his bottom lip as he watched the boy let out a frustrated groan as he ran a hand through his hair "Look," Jack practically whispered "I've been coming here for about a little over a month and I've been avoiding this subject for a while now."

"I have…I have a new…family," Jack struggled "and I almost wish I could remember you better, you know? I remember you Pippa, but I don't really remember you mom, or you dad. I wish I could…but I can't. I'm so, SO sorry."

Jack's shoulders convulsed as he let out a strangled sob, causing him to have to give pause long enough to regain his composure "But I think," he continued softly "that you guys would probably like my new family."

The Guardians leaned in closer so to hear his words, each straining to catch the quiet voice lilting into the wind "North is like a dad," Jack chuckled causing the large man to give a small jump of surprise, a sudden warm grin lighting his face at the words spoken about him "I mean, he's always trying to take care of me, and make sure I have a place to go. He even scolds me like a dad, and when I do something really bad, he gets this look on his face where his eyebrows scrunch together, and he just stares at me because he can't even decide what to start yelling about first. But there are other times where I do something, and he disciplines me because he needs to, but I know he doesn't mean it, and sometimes he even laughs about it because he just can't get mad. I really like that about him, it makes me feel like I have my dad back, even though I don't remember him."

North wiped a tear from his eye, sniffing back his emotion as Tooth laid a soft hand on his shoulder, her smile tender before she too jumped to attention at the sound of Jack's voice "Then there's Tooth," the fairy gave a silent squeal of glee as she leaned in her eyes wide with expectation "she is definitely like my mom. She is always worrying about me, and trying to make sure I'm happy. I don't think I've made her mad yet, but I bet it will interesting when it does happen, because I've seen her mad and it is NOT pretty. She is really kind, and compassionate, and I always feel safe, she was one of the first Guardians that I got used to having them hug me. I'm still not used to it, but…I'm getting there."

"Sandy's pretty cool too," the sandman did a small flip with a punch to the air as the winter spirit continued "he is like some kind of eccentric Uncle or Grandpa. He always sneaks me candy and different toys, and then he sticks around to play with me. Even though he can't talk, the guy is hilarious, and you never know what his imagination will cook up next. He nags me a lot about getting enough sleep, but I think it's mostly because he is the Sandman, and I'm a rebellious teenager who likes staying up late watching MTV through the windows of people's homes, so we sometimes have different ideas on what a good night's sleep actually entails. But on the whole, he is pretty cool…someone I like being around."

Flopping onto his rear, Jack curled up, hugging his knees to his chest, his voice fading away, and Bunny felt keen disappointment fill him that Jack was leaving him out only to perk up when the sprite began to speak again "There is also Bunny," he said hesitantly "at first I thought that he hated me…thought that he couldn't stand me or snow, or anything that had to do with what I am or do, but…"

Aster sat perfectly still, heart hammering in his chest as he waited "Bunny…is…" Jack began slowly, his words creeping into the night tentatively as if he feared the rabbit would jump out of the shadows and beat him upside the head for what he was about to confess "Bunny is like a big brother…the one person out of all the Guardians that I want to impress and…be like. It's weird, because I've seen hundreds of younger siblings do crazy stuff to get the attention of their older brother or sister, I've seen pranks and wacky tricks to get them to acknowledge their existence, and somehow before I knew it I was doing the exact same thing. I just wanted him to look at me, to help me get the hang of my abilities since he's a spirit that has elemental powers like me. But he never did, so I started acting like him, trying to impress him by being tough, and sarcastic, and stubborn…but that just made things worse. So I pretended that our fights were conversations…that we were brothers, and I was just being the annoying younger sibling that the older brother secretly cared about…I'm still not sure how that's working."

Aster grit his teeth and sunk onto the grass as his ears drooped in guilt, of all of them, he was the one who got more complaints than compliments, and it cut him all the way to the heart. "…But…"

The rabbit shot back up, his sides quivering as he hoped against hope that Jack would have something better, some sign that he could salvage their relationship and make the sprite see that they truly were brothers.

"Bunny," Jack paused as he searched for the right words "he is the one that I…trust…most."

Aster's heart exploded with joy and an indescribable emotion that made him want to whoop in victory and sob in relief.

"It's like," the boy continued unaware of the reactions behind him "three months ago he caught me talking to an ice person…something I had been doing for about two centuries…and he didn't get mad, he just…gave me a hug. And I think, I think that I can trust him, and I think that we can be brothers. He acts like a tough guy, but he's pretty much an overgrown teddy bear, and so I know that I shouldn't take his insults seriously because he doesn't mean them…which is cool. He is tough though, don't get me wrong. Despite the fact that he's terrified of heights, he is pretty wicked with his stick thingies that he fights with. He's really cool and he knows all kinds of martial arts, and he always has the best reactions to my pranks, not to mention he knows how to get revenge which is awesome because not everyone can get me back and he does pranks as good as me. He's crazy fast, and I like having races with him, plus his Warren is really huge and has so many trees and places to hide."

Jack suddenly became a fountain of words, as he chirped about how cool Bunny was, how fun Sandy was, and how loving North and Tooth were and how they made him feel safe, talking like this for well over two hours until the fountain trickled to a stop and Jack heaved a forlorn sigh.

"I know it's wrong," he whispered "but I need to say goodbye, and start my life with my new family. I know I'm being so selfish, and a brat, but I want…I need them…so much. So, tonight's the last time I sneak out, I'll still visit every once in a while, but I needed to come back and say good bye…for real…I want to step into my new life as a Guardian without any regrets. I love you, so much, and I hope…" suddenly Jack's voice became choked with uncontrollable sobs and he struggled to finish what he was going to say through his tears "I hope that…you can be happy…for me. I love you…Bye."

Standing up the boy softly began to sing, his voice quavering with emotion before slowly strengthening as the song continued.

_I pray you'll be our eyes  
And watch us where we go  
And help us to be wise  
In times when we don't know_

Let this be our prayer  
As we go our way  
Lead us to a place  
Guide us with your grace  
To a place where we'll be safe

I pray we'll find your light  
And hold it in our hearts  
When stars go out each night  
Remind us where you are

Let this be our prayer  
When shadows fill our day  
Lead us to a place  
Guide us with your grace  
Give us faith so we'll be safe

We ask that life be kind  
And watch us from above  
We hope each soul will find  
Another soul to love

Let this be our prayer  
Just like every child  
Needs to find a place  
Guide us with your grace  
Give us faith so we'll be safe

Need to find a place  
Guide us with your grace  
Give us faith so we'll be safe

The Guardians listened to his light tenor, each standing in awe at the beauty resounding through each note, and Jack sang with all his heart unaware that the snow began to glow, and the wind rustled in the trees creating a tornado of snow flurries arcing around him as if the snow itself was dancing and responding to the feelings behind the words. And as the last night faded, Jack gave a weak smile and placed a rose carved from ice on each tombstone, including his own.

Standing in front of the grave marker that declared _Jackson Overland_ the boy heaved a sigh and then nodded in determination "That life is dead," he said "I'm going to live my new life now, and I won't look back."

With that last comment, the boy flew away leaving the Guardians standing in the snow, each lost in their own thoughts.

…..

The next day Jack woke from a deep sleep, his nose perking at the smell of pancakes, and he sat up quickly as the memories of the night before flitted through his mind. Part of him felt a sense of loss that he had finally said goodbye to his past, but another part felt weightless, relieved that he finally had a future to look forward to, something ahead of him that made him excited and not depressed. Scooting to the edge of his bed, the boy flung his legs over the side and stood up to grab his staff from its spot next to the side table. Running to the door, he pulled it open, and burst through sprinting towards the smell of breakfast where people would inevitably be. What he found in the less formal dining room connected to the kitchen were the Guardians sitting around eating pancakes.

Bunny was eating carrot pancakes loaded with maple syrup, peanut butter, and almonds with a glass of orange juice on the side, and a small bowl of fruit. North was eating a stack of chocolate chip pancakes almost as tall as Sandy, which were covered in melting butter and syrup. Sandy sat with his waffles, happily pouring his maple syrup on top while eyeing the strawberries with great interest as the garnish. Tooth however sat with a distinct frown on her face.

"Seriously guys," she grumped "eating breakfast as a family is one thing, but do you have to mock me by eating foods that will induce cavities?!"

"I have fruit," Bunny said in a snarky tone as he picked up his bowl and wiggled it under her nose "besides, everyone knows that a real family breakfast includes pancakes…it's practically an unwritten law!"

"Bunny is right," North huffed indignantly "and you have been telling us same thing since we first met, but I have been eating cookies since that time and I have not had a single cavity, so stop picking on food choices!"

"You say that now," Tooth hissed in a spooky voice "but one day you're going to wake up with a tooth ache from a century old cavity that just decided to make itself known, and then…THEN you will come crying to me."

North and Bunny exchanged sarcastic looks of amusement before turning back to the fuming fairy and shrugging their shoulders "…Maybe…"

"ARRRGH!" Tooth growled as she grabbed a bowl of fruit and began to shovel it into her mouth, chewing it viciously.

"Oh Tooth," North paused, his eyes twinkling with mischief.

"WHAT?!"

"That is canned fruit…" the large man shrugged apologetically.

"But…" Tooth felt her heart skip a beat "But canned fruit has an even higher sugar count than some candies due to the fruit syrup…"

"Yeah," Bunny snickered "none of us felt like flyin' ta the tropics ta pick some fresh."

Tooth slowly gave an unconscious chew to her mouthful before her hands flew up to her mouth and she gave a squeak of terror "My TEETH!" she shrieked as she shot out of her chair and zipped at full speed towards the nearest bathroom "I can already feel the cavities setting in! NOOOOOO!"

Bunny lasted exactly two seconds after she left before he melted into a round of uncontrollable giggles "Tha-That was great!" he guffawed.

Jack floated into the room, a grin on his face as he dipped a finger in the juice of the fruit in Tooth's bowl and sent a playful glare towards the rabbit "Bunny," he said slowly in an almost scolding tone.

Bunny stopped laughing long enough to look sheepish and send an innocent smile up at the trickster "Yes, Jack?"

"This isn't canned fruit," Jack said as he fought to hold back the laughs crawling up his throat "you tricked Tooth into thinking it was."

"Yes," Bunny nodded as his eyes glittered with tears of mirth as he bit his lips so to prevent more chortles "Yes I did."

"That is just plain cruel," the sprite sighed as he crossed his arms.

"What, like you wouldn't have done the same thing?" Bunny defended.

"That's what's cruel," Jack burst as his face took on an indignant pout that was ruined by the smile tugging at his lips "it IS something I would do…how dare you steal my job by tricking Tooth with a hilarious prank like that?! Now people are gonna think that I'm losing my touch and have to rely on bunnies to do my dirty work!"

Jack and Bunny glared at each other before a small snort of laughter broke through the winter spirit's lips, which was quickly followed by a giggle that was held firmly in the base of his throat by Bunny. Soon the duo couldn't hold them in any longer, and both were cracking up laughing. Tooth came in during the middle of all this and sent a glare to both Jack and Bunny.

"Oh that's it," she hissed "I heard every word, and now you both are getting what's coming to you."

"But…BUT…" Jack spluttered "I wasn't involved!"

"You were laughing about it," the fairy growled "and therefore you are guilty by association!"

"Oooh Crikey," Bunny murmured.

"Yikes," Jack agreed.

The two looked at each other, and then flashed a smile "RUN!" the cried in unison.

"Get back here you scamps!" Tooth shrieked as she chased after them from the dining room.

North burst into laughter as he happily dug back into his breakfast, but pausing long enough to look at Sandy and comment "You know, now we truly are family. Jack is perfect fit, and just what we needed to bring a much needed element to this team."

Sandy nodded and then tucked back into breakfast, he knew he would need as much energy as possible of he was going to go hunt down a rabid fairy and stop her from strangling their two favorite trouble makers.

**I know it took forever guys, and I.F.T.S. I am working on yours, but your idea is a tad hard, so if it takes a bit, I apologize, but I AM writing it!**

**Hope you enjoyed this and don't forget to REVIEW!**


	50. Pitch's passion

**OK…I KNOW I'm supposed to be working on other things…but this idea grabbed me by the throat and refused to let go until it was written.**

**This chapter is dedicated to Mystichawk, and miraeyeteeth…simply for the fact that they have gotten me addicted to all things Pitch fanfiction.**

**IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT YOU GUYS!**

**So enjoy what I hope to be a sporadic arc where we look into…Pitch's passion**

Jack flew over Chicago, his face a happy smile as he looked down on the seemingly endless masses of people rushing to and fro. It was late fall, and all were bustling about shopping for thanksgiving and preparing for the inevitable family dinner scarcely a week away. The air was crisp, and wind playful, the perfect day to go flying. Tucking his arms into his sides, the boy allowed himself to plummet down to the ground, pulling up at last minute so to gracefully land on a stop light currently directing traffic.

He loved Chicago, mostly for the fact that it was aptly named the "Windy City", which was true because the wind played and frolicked here in a way that it didn't anywhere else. Whether it was due to the strength of the wind building up from running unhindered across the flat open plains of the countryside, or because of the air currents from one of the Great Lakes that lay right beside the big city, either way when those two clashed it almost felt like two football teams crashing together at the start of the Super bowl, and it was just as exciting. Jack sometimes felt like he was a surfer riding nonstop rogue waves all over town, and it took his breath away from the sheer amount of enjoyment he obtained from the experience.

But the thing he loved most about Chicago was its people. The state of Illinois, among others, was known for its ability to raise hardy people who didn't flinch at a snowstorm. Much like Indiana, Minnesota, or even Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, these people could get three feet of snow, and thirty below zero plus wind chill, and not even bat an eye. Jack loved that about them. It made it feel like a challenge for him to try and get the kids a snow day when the school had buses that were equipped with special tires made specifically for driving in snow, and he had even seen one with a plow on the front. The snow sprite had no end of fun waging war with the school systems of the Northeast, and sometimes he won, sometimes he lost, but either way he would never give in. The children were just as tough as their parents, walking around in twenty degree weather in nothing more than a light jacket or a heavy sweater to keep them warm, and Jack delighted in drawing those daredevils out for special snowball fights.

Smiling at the thoughts that connected him so dearly to this city, Jack almost missed the shadow skitter across the street and go into the Broadway. Cocking his head, the winter sprite frowned as he contemplated just what Pitch had planned in a theater, before flying off the stoplight and ghosting into the theater slipping in just as the front door was about to close.

Sneaking in, the boy stopped, his ears perking at music playing in the main theatre hall but when he saw another shadow of a small nightmare flit by in his peripheral the boy continued his quest searching for the Boogeyman. Walking up a flight of stairs in the back, the spirit found himself in the third balcony section, the one closest to the ceiling, which was apparently closed for remodeling. What he found would send him into a state of shock. Pitch black, aka the Boogeyman, sat in the front row with his feet propped up on the railing and his head was leaning all the way back with his eyes closed as he mouthed the words to the song being sung. His arms were crossed comfortably, and one finger gently directed as the music flowed over him. Jack had honestly never seen Pitch look so relaxed and…peaceful.

Suddenly the Boogeyman opened his eyes, and cast two fiery yellow orbs on the winter spirit, a glare of obvious hate and disdain practically sparking in the darkness of the balcony. Jack shuffled his feet uncomfortably, one pale hand giving a small wave "Uh…H-Hey," he chuckled nervously.

"Jack Frost," the dark man spat "must you ruin everything? The past I can understand due to your being a Guardian, but intruding on my private time is beyond rude and entered the realm of the obscene."

Jack shrugged "I didn't know?" he offered "I mean, I see one of your nightmares enter the theatre, I was just investigating what it was doing here."

Pitch pinched the bridge of his nose and gave a heavy sigh as he closed his eyes and clenched his jaw as he fought to maintain his cool "They follow me, Frost," he growled as he fastened his angry yellow gaze back on the child "it sort of comes with the territory of being the Nightmare king, now if you please, leave me alone."

"I can't do that," Jack shrugged "because now I want to know what you're doing here."

"What's it look like I'm doing?!" Pitch snarled "Can I not even have one afternoon by myself without some Guardian meddling in my affairs?"

"I was just asking a question," Jack grumbled with a pout as he crossed his arms and set his chin in a stubborn tilt.

"Fine," the Boogeyman groaned "I am merely minding my own business, enjoying a production of a particular favorite of mine, is that so terribly wrong?"

"Nope," Jack chirped with a sudden smile "so whatcha watchin'?"

"It's called Les Miserables if you must know," Pitch sighed.

"Doesn't that mean "the miserable" in French?" Jack asked incredulously.

"Yes," Pitch snarled "thus its appeal."

Suddenly Jack turned thoughtful "Didn't they just make that into a movie?" he asked absently.

The Boogeyman moaned almost as if he were in pain "Don't even think that you can compare this to that creation. Movies have their place, I agree, but when it comes to Opera and musicals, the live production will always be better than some…film."

Jack shrugged and then shot the specter a grin "I'll just have to be the judge of that."

"Wait…" Pitch paused his eyes growing wide "you're going to…stay?"

"Sure, why not!" Jack chirped.

Pitch blinked slowly as the gears in his brain burst into overdrive processing the sheer impossible situation currently staring at him, the idea of a Guardian spending an afternoon watching his favorite Broadway production was just…ludicrous! But somehow, it made him give pause, maybe he could, no, he shouldn't be thinking this, but just maybe he could allow the boy a moment of his time.

"Alright," Pitch murmured softly "if you really wish to see, then you must sit here and watch the whole thing all the way to the end, only then will I allow you stay."

Jack pursed his lips, was he really considering watching a Broadway production with Pitch? Finally after a few moments contemplation, Jack shrugged and flashed Pitch a smile and a thumbs up "Okeydokey, I can do that."

"Good, then you can sit over her-"

Suddenly the sound of violins in the orchestra pit caught Pitch off guard and the man spun around and raced to his seat, causing Jack to scuttle after him.

"What's going on?" the boy whispered.

"Shhhh!" Pitch hushed "be quiet, the solo is about to begin!"

A woman dressed in rags, her hair cut close to her head, stumbled on stage only to collapse on the floor and stare out on the audience with tearful eyes and a hopeless face. Opening her mouth, she began to sing, and Jack looked over to Pitch his own eyes wide with wonder as he watched a sudden change overtake the formerly intimidating dark spirit. His eyes closed in seeming rapture, and as he directed with on finger, the man mouthed the words to what Jack could only assume was his favorite song.

_I dreamed a dream in time gone by  
When hope was high  
And life worth living  
I dreamed that love would never die  
I dreamed that God would be forgiving  
Then I was young and unafraid  
And dreams were made and used and wasted  
There was no ransom to be paid  
No song unsung, no wine untasted_

But the tigers come at night  
With their voices soft as thunder  
As they tear your hope apart  
As they turn your dream to shame

Jack bowed his head, listening to the words, and slowly comprehending the meaning they must have held for the Boogeyman, Pitch however was lost in the music his head once again tilted back as he strained to get every ounce of acoustics that he could and truly immerse himself in the song.

_And still I dream she'll come to me  
That we will live the years together  
But there are dreams that cannot be  
And there are storms we cannot weather_

I had a dream my life would be  
So different from this hell I'm living  
So different now from what it seemed  
Now life has killed the dream I dreamed.

Pitch drew a shaky breath as the song once again wove its spell over him, and rendered him helpless in its grasp. There were few things that could cause him to become emotional, and music was one of them, especially this particular Opera. No matter how many times he watched it, no matter how many languages it had been translated into, this song always touched him to his deepest core and caused him to feel more deeply than he dared care to think about.

"Pitch…you ok?"

The small voice at his side caused the Boogeyman to jump, he had forgotten Jack's presence due to his favorite song and the exquisite quality of the current actress playing Fantine's character "Of course I'm ok," Pitch snarled "what would ever lead you to believe otherwise?!"

"…That…"

Jack pointed a finger at the man's face, and Pitch gave an angry swipe only to stare horrified at the tear that had somehow managed to crawl its way down his cheek. Giving a heavy swallow of embarrassment the Boogeyman turned around and folded his arms with a huff "It's nothing," he growled "it's merely a product from the fact that its dusty up here and my allergies are acting up."

Jack raised his eyebrow incredulously before turning back to the show, his blue eyes watching the action intently "What's going on?" he whispered.

Pitch leaned over "Well you see-" suddenly he shot back up face palming himself "What are you even still doing here?"

Jack sent a pout up at the dark man "You said I could stay," he huffed "so I'm staying, now tell me what's going on!"

Pitch rolled his eyes as he fought the smirk that was tugging at his lips "Fine," he said with a longsuffering sigh "it's not every day that I get to give a Guardian a culture lesson."

Bracing an elbow on the arm of the seat, Pitch leaned down and proceeded to explain the plot line "That man," he pointed onto the stage "is an ex-convict who is trying to better himself but no matter how much good he does he always seems to fall into some kind of trouble or get framed for some terrible crime. And that woman is a lady who is trying to find some way to earn money so to pay the exorbitant fees being billed to her by the innkeeper currently caring for her daughter. The man and that man, his name is Javert, are mortal enemies who somehow manage to become reluctant allies by the end."

"Cool," Jack drawled with a big smile "Ok, I think I got it."

Pitch nodded and straightened back up, and soon both were lost in the story being played for them. Jack's eyes were wide as he watched the drama unfold but as the plot progressed, the boy soon found his own favorite song that touched his core. A girl, also dressed in rags with dark mussed hair flowing down her back walked listlessly across the stage, her eyes dark with sorrow as she wrapped her arms around herself and began to sing her heart.

_And now I'm all alone again nowhere to turn, no one to go to  
without a home without a friend without a face to say hello to  
And now the night is near  
Now I can make believe he's here_

Sometimes I walk alone at night  
When everybody else is sleeping  
I think of him and then I'm happy  
With the company I'm keeping  
The city goes to bed  
And I can live inside my head

Jack jumped, his senses alive as a sudden insecurity filled him, surely she wasn't talking about him? Jack had pretended to have a friend, not like this girl who imagined having a man whom she loved be by her side, but the winter spirit understood what it was like to wander the streets completely alone imagining what it was like having a family during those three hundred years of solitude. His hands gripping the armrests of the chair, Jack listened in rapt attention to the soloist as she continued her song of lonely sorrow.

_On my own  
Pretending he's beside me  
All alone  
I walk with him till morning  
Without him  
I feel his arms around me  
And when I lose my way I close my eyes  
And he has found me_

In the rain the pavement shines like silver  
All the lights are misty in the river  
In the darkness, the trees are full of starlight  
And all I see is him and me forever and forever

And I know it's only in my mind  
That I'm talking to myself and not to him  
And although I know that he is blind  
Still I say, there's a way for us

I love him  
But when the night is over  
He is gone  
The river's just a river  
Without him  
The world around me changes  
The trees are bare and everywhere  
The streets are full of strangers

I love him  
But every day I'm learning  
All my life  
I've only been pretending  
Without me  
His world will go on turning  
A world that's full of happiness  
That I have never known

I love him  
I love him  
I love him

_But only on my own_

"Jack…are _you_ ok?"

Jack cast startled blue eyes up to the dark man only to see Pitch staring at him with a self satisfied smirk. Feeling something tickling his cheek, Jack reached up and wiped away a half frozen tear, and chucked it out over the railing. Flopping back into his seat, Jack cast an indignant pout towards the stage.

"Allergies," he grumbled as a way of explanation "annoying things."

"Yes, yes," Pitch gave a dark chuckle "they always seem to strike at the strangest times."

After that the duo watched the rest of the play without further incident, and all too soon the cast was giving its bows to the applauding audience. Pitch himself was joining in the standing ovation, his hands a blur as he clapped, his face wreathed in an uncharacteristically bright smile.

"Bravo!" he called "Se Magnifique!"

The Boogeyman clapped and whistled all the way through the bows, and then turned to his companion "So Jack, what did you thin-?"

Pitch stopped, his face taking on a look of surprise as he gazed down on the child who had inexplicably fallen asleep. The man didn't know when it had happened, maybe it was during the intermission or shortly after when Marius had come on the scene and started making a mess of things, but whenever it had happened the winter spirit had succumbed to heat building in the room due to the amount of bodies packed in its seats below and fallen into a deep slumber. Heaving a sigh, Pitch refused to acknowledge the warm bubble of amused fondness that suddenly burst in his chest, and bent down to scoop the child up into his arms. Shadow walking, the Boogeyman dropped Jack off at his lake and then left.

Some hours later Jack slowly came out of his sleep, one pale hand rubbing his eyes as he tried to bring his sigh back into focus "…Pitch…?" he mumbled sleepily.

Suddenly registering the ice beneath him, the boy jolted upright, and looked around only to see his lake surrounding him "Man!" he whined with an aggravated punch to the ice "I missed the end of the show!"

Drawing his knees up to his chest, Jack hugged his legs and resting his chin on his arms with an unhappy pout as he sulked for a few moments about falling asleep and missing the end of the show "Now I won't find out what happens to Valjean and Cosette" he grumbled.

After about ten minutes of sulking, Jack decided that there was no use crying over spilt milk and determining within himself to catch the end of the show before the week came to an end. Standing up, the boy skated around the ice, softly humming one of the songs from the Opera as his mind reeled with what could have happened and how thing could have ended up. But something fluttering in the breeze caught his attention and made him pause, it was a note.

_Jack_

_Had surprisingly good time despite the fact that you're a guardian and don't even have the smallest inkling of culture. You should catch the rest of the show, and this time stay awake._

_P._

Jack chuckled over the surprising contents of the note as he began to puzzle over this newest discovery. Whistling his song, Jack shoved off and began to skate again, his mind abuzz with the thoughts that maybe wasn't as bad everyone thought he was.

**I'M SO SORRY!**

**Like I said…I HAD to write this! I was singing in the shower and suddenly got the idea, what if Pitch was a Broadway junkie? And what if his favorite Opera was Les Miserables? And then my brain started clicking and my muses started hitting me upside the head, and it just wasn't pretty. **

**I.F.T.S. I am working on your request, a good friend gave me some inspiration, and I will be able to start working on it and make it as good as we all hope it will be.**

**Mystichawk, Miraeyeteeth, please let me know what you think as this chapter was dedicated to ya'll!**


	51. Pitch's Passion2

**Wow…I honestly did not expect the flood of approving reviews for my Pitch chapter. I actually thought that my writing style would not suit the character quite well, and so due to the demands that flooded into my mail, I am making the companion to this.**

**I am taking a short break writing this Pitch and Jack friendship arc, so that I can think carefully about the end to Human!Bunny and start on the rough draft for the next arc Visions that you are all eagerly awaiting.**

**I hope you do not mind **

Pitch sighed, he was currently lounging in his lair, and he had to admit that he was actually bored. It was near time for Christmas, and of course the Boogeyman would be the last person who would be feeling festive, so it only made his current situation worse. Thinking back to just a scant month earlier, the dark specter remembered his odd and yet surprisingly enjoyable afternoon that he had spent with Jack Frost. He couldn't remember a time when he had had that much fun, maybe because he wasn't alone, and that made the experience of watching his favorite Opera that more delightful.

Pitch shook his head, and then slapped his face forcefully, what was he thinking? Was he actually just having feelings of fondness and nostalgia over someone who had rejected his offer to become a Guardian? The very idea made him want to run to his bathroom and retch violently.

Flopping one arm over his eyes, the Boogeyman wondered how he had managed to have sunk so low. He was just fine over a month ago, but it only took one afternoon of reluctant companionship, and someone willing to just sit down and not treat him like some monster of darkness, but like a person to effectively shatter every notion and lie he had built up around his heart in what he had hoped was a titanium suit of armor, but unfortunately he was proven wrong and now here he was sitting like a sad sack of potatoes fighting against every hope and fear he had worked so hard to banish into darkness. It just wasn't fair.

"Hey Pitch!" A familiar voice sang in the caverns that served as an entrance to his home "You home?"

"Oh joy," Pitch moaned sarcastically "the object of my torturous existence has dropped by for a visit, I'm soooo happy."

"Hey," the voice barked "I heard that!"

"Good," Pitch snarled back "then maybe you can take the not so subtle hint that I don't want you here, and leave!"

"Nah," the voice chuckled as it slowly came closer "I'm not very good at taking hints…or orders…or anything that involves me doing something I don't already want to do."

"Trust me, Frost," the specter hissed as he sat up to face the smirking winter child standing behind him "you want to leave, it is in your best interest to leave!"

"It may be in mine," Jack drawled as he rested his hands behind his head "but I can bet that it is most definitely not in yours."

"I doubt it," The specter sighed as he flopped backwards onto the stone of his cavern and once again covered his face with his arms "what could possibly benefit me from you staying?"

"This," Jack replied simply as he lowered himself to the ground so to peer under the limbs hiding Pitch from view "I came with an offer."

"Allow me to save you some trouble," Pitch sneered "…No…"

"Aw come on, you haven't even heard me out yet!" Jack whined.

"I don't need to, I already know that it is nothing that I want to be a part of!" Pitch retorted.

"You can't be sure," Jack practically sang as he poked the side of Pitch's head "come on, just five minutes, that's all I ask."

Finally the Boogeyman heaved a reluctant sigh as he caved to Jack demands "You have three," he growled.

"Ok," Jack burst with a grin "remember how we watched Les Miserables together?"

"…Yes, unfortunately…" came the grumbled reply.

"Well I was thinking about it yesterday," Jack continued as he began to bounce up and down excitedly "and so I decided to do a little research, and guess what?!"

"I am positively aching with suspense," Pitch sighed with sarcasm "please tell me and alleviate my pain."

Jack rolled his eyes at the Boogeyman's obvious disinterest "So I looked around and I discovered that the same theatre in Chicago is putting on another Opera!"

Pitch paused, he had to admit that actually piqued his interest "Oh," he drawled in seeming apathy "and what may I ask is being put on?"

"Some play called Phantom of the Opera," Jack shrugged "I've never heard of it, I mean I have, but I've never seen it. So, I thought…maybe you would like to go see it too."

Pitch lowered his arms to stare at Jack in shock, his eyes wide as he scrutinized the Guardian sitting next to him, unable to form any words that could accurately convey his thoughts "…huh…?""

Jack's smile grew into a large grin "So I knocked ya speechless, eh Pitch?"

"N-No," Pitch stammered as he stood up and stalked to one end of the cavern his face creased in thought "I'm just wondering how you could manage to achieve this new level of stupidity."

Jack's smile fell as he considered the reluctant specter, and finally he heaved a sigh "Look, if you want to come then come. I'm only asking because I know you like live productions of musicals and Operas, and Phantom of the Opera is supposed to be dark and creepy which is pretty much up your alley."

Standing up, the winter spirit strode out of the cavern, his chin held high as he left the Boogeyman to his thoughts. Pitch watched the child leave, and exhaled in relief when he had finally gone "At last," he hissed "the brat's gone."

But as Pitch thought about what Jack had offered, he suddenly began to realize that he wasn't all that relieved to be alone again. If anything he felt…empty. As if he had turned down a golden opportunity and some part of him was sane enough to acknowledge it, and it in turn left him feeling dissatisfied and restless. It was not a feeling he enjoyed, in fact he quickly decided that he hated it, and thus needed to remedy it as soon as possible, which only made things worse, because if he was going to rid himself of this hateful mix of emotions then he needed to go meet Jack at the Chicago Theatre and enjoy watching Phantom of the Opera. But if he did that, he would have to deal with the inevitable consequence of maybe enjoying the child's company and, dare he say it, actually wanting friendship. The thought was too terrible to contemplate, and it made Pitch's stomach twist painfully as he considered the pros and cons of both arguments. Should he go, and risk the possibility of becoming soft? Or should he stay and maintain his aura of evil and maliciousness at the cost of not having another enjoyable afternoon with a friend? His grey hands gripping the hair on his head, Pitch gave an unhappy snarl as he stomped his foot petulantly, and finally the specter made a decision.

"Alright!" he finally bellowed to no one in particular "I'll go!"

Throwing his hands up into the air, Pitch summoned the shadows and teleported himself across the continent towards the city of Chicago. Stomping past the crowds, and into the building, the Boogeyman made his way up to his usual spot not surprised when he saw Jack already seated and waiting for the curtain to rise.

Turning around in his seat, Jack gave the man a small wave "Heya Pitch!" he chirped.

"I'm not here for you," the Boogeyman snarled "I'm only here because it just so happens that Phantom of the Opera is one of my favorite books, but I've never had the chance to see it live on stage."

"Ok," Jack shrugged "you came just in time the first act should be starting at any minute."

Pitch sat down with a huff "You better stay awake this time," he grumbled "because I'm not dropping you off at home again."

"I'll try," Jack smiled innocently as the lights dimmed and the orchestra struck up the opening song.

Actors walked onstage, one woman pushing a wheelchair with a well dressed elderly man inside coming to the side of the stage while others filed in, an auction scene that was set within the dilapidated theatre in Paris. The auctioneer began to auction off various pieces of artwork, along with posters of the shows once performed in that theatre that they had gathered in. The old man bought nothing until a paper-mache music box with a Persian monkey on top playing the cymbals, with which he battled another elderly lady for until he won it. The elderly man wondered over the music box until the auctioneer began to start the bidding for the chandelier, and as they took the canvas off the object and began to raise it to the ceiling, the theatre went through a startling transformation as shrouds were ripped away in the illusion that they had gone back in time to when the Phantom still haunted the Opera house.

The winter sprite jumped at the opening notes from the organ as it reverberated throughout the theatre causing the hair on the back of his neck to rise and his teeth to clench "Whoa," he whispered breathlessly "ok, that was unexpected…and creepy."

Pitch coughed to cover the bark of laughter that wanted so badly to explode from his lips, but instead smirked at the boy "It's exquisitely done, and this story is...creepy, as you call it. I'm not sure you'll be able to handle it."

"Yes I can," Jack pouted before putting a finger to his lips "Now hush, you're ruining the mood of the music!"

"Trust me Jack," Pitch smiled maliciously "this is one Opera where I sincerely doubt I could do anything to ruin the mood, if anything I would enhance it."

"Narcissist," Jack snorted as he fought the smile tugging at his lips.

"Frost brat," Pitch retorted.

"Oh," Jack moaned sarcastically with one hand rushing to clutch his chest "your originality wounds me."

Pitch rolled his eyes then placed a grey bony finger to his own lips "Shhh Jack, you're ruining the mood of the music."

Jack's jaw dropped and he crossed his arms with a petulant pout before allowing a smile to stretch across his face "Jerk,"

The Boogeyman shook his head at Jack's need to get the last word, but merely maintained his silence, his heart and soul thrilling with the beauty of the music resounding around them. Closing his eyes, he smiled maliciously at the hidden messages within the opening theme. He had loved the book, and he couldn't wait to see the Opera. Finally the song came to an end, and a diva walked on stage in garments of a rather ridiculous nature, and began to sing in a high pitched screeching voice which Pitch immediately assumed that this was the prima donna who played the rival and bully of the main protagonist Christine. Jack winced as her voice hit the ceiling, and battered at the rafters, one hand gently cupping an ear as he sunk into his seat.

"Wow…ow," he muttered "please tell me she isn't the main singer."

"Nope," Pitch said popping the p "she is the rival who gets replaced by the main singer."

"Thank God," Jack breathed "I was fearing for my poor eardrums."

The dark man snorted "Not to worry, just be quiet and watch the show."

The scene progressed with said Diva eventually walking off the stage in a huff, and Christine leaving the chorus girls to take the floor and audition for the lead part. Jack and Pitch leaned forward in unison, both unaware of the other, and each anxious to hear the voice of the lead soloist and protagonist of this morbid tale. Christine looked back at her teachers on stage in nervousness before opening her mouth and allowing her angelic voice to flow into the audience.

_Think of me, think of me fondly when we've said goodbye_

_Remember me, once in a while_

_Please promise me you'll try_

_When you find _

_That once again you long to take your heart back and be free_

_If you ever find a moment,_

_Spare a thought for me._

Jack and Pitch sighed at the beauty in her song, and leaned back into their chairs so to better listen. Sparing a glance, they realized that they had been mirroring each other, and Jack felt a broad smile stretch his face and Pitch allowed a small smirk to tug at his lips before they both enjoyed a chuckle at the absurdity of it.

The show continued, showing Christine's debut on stage, and her childhood friend Raoul coming to reunite with her after years of separation. Jack watched with rapt attention, his eyes wide, and a smile playing across his lips as he was sucked into the story. He loved Les Miserables, the music was amazing, and the acting superb, but Jack could already feel that it was swiftly being replaced by Phantom of the Opera as his favorite. Crossing his legs in his chair, the boy braced his elbows on his knees, and resting his head in his hands as he immersed himself in the world of the haunted Opera house.

Pitch watched as the girl was abducted and taken deep into the foundations of the Opera house into the catacombs of Paris, his face slack as he too was sucked into the plotline. Leaning over, the Boogeyman whispered to Jack "I bet I could give that phantom a run for his money in terms of being frightening and dark."

Jack shot him a surprised glance "Can you even sing?"

"Of course," Pitch sniffed "I've been catching enough Operas across Europe over the course of the centuries, and have had plenty of time to practice. I'm probably better than any man who has ever played the Phantom."

Jack laughed "Too bad you don't know the songs, otherwise I would dare you to stand on the railing and sing the Phantom's parts just to prove it."

"Ah," Pitch said with a gleeful smirk "I said I've never seen it live, but I HAVE seen the movie."

"What?!" Jack gave an indignant squawk "After all your ranting about how movies can't compare, you watched the movie adaptation before you saw it live?!"

"The black and white version," Pitch replied smugly "and I still maintain the opinion that the live production will always trump a film adaption."

"Alright," Jack bounced in his chair and pointed at the railing "get up there, right now!"

"What?" Pitch scoffed "surely you're joking."

"Nope," Jack grinned "you're the one who bragged, so go prove to me that you can do it."

Pitch pursed his lips unhappily, that is until the Phantom began singing his favorite song and finally stood with a roll of his eyes "Fine," he growled "I'll show you just what I'm capable of."

Walking over to the center aisle, Pitch climbed up onto the statue arcing out from the balcony, then closed his eyes and began to sing.

_Nighttime sharpens, heightens each sensation  
Darkness wakes and stirs imagination  
Silently the senses abandon their defenses  
Helpless to resist the notes I write...  
For I compose the music of the night_

Slowly, gently, Night unfurls it's Splendor  
Grasp it, sense it, tremulous and tender  
Hearing is believing, music is deceiving  
Hard as lightening, soft as candlelight.  
Dare you trust the music of the night?

Jack's jaw dropped as a voice that he never expected to hear come out of the Boogeyman's mouth, and his staff dropped to the ground the man sang over the voice of the Phantom subbing in his own.

_Softly, deftly, Music shall caress you  
Hear it, feel it, secretly possess you  
Open up your mind, Let your fantasies unwind  
In this Darkness which you know you cannot fight,  
The Darkness of the Music of the Night!_

Close your eyes -  
Start a journey through a strange new world  
Leave all thoughts of the world you knew before  
Close your eyes -  
And let music set you free.  
Only then can you belong to me

Floating, falling, Sweet Intoxication  
Touch me, trust me, savor each Sensation  
Let the dream begin, Let your darker side give in  
To the Power of the music that I write,  
The Power of the Music of the Night!

As the song came to an end, Jack stood and clapped, and Pitch suddenly felt extremely embarrassed, and he scrambled down off the statue and returned to his seat. Jack flopped into his seat, his grin huge as he gaped at Pitch in wonder.

"Wow!" the winter spirit breathed "that was awesome."

"It was nothing," Pitch mumbled as he turned so Jack wouldn't see the dark blush brushing his cheeks "like I said, I have had time to practice."

Jack considered him, before turning back to the show not wishing to push Pitch any further. As the plot progressed, Jack began to draw platitudes between the Boogeyman and the Phantom, wondering if the similarities he saw between them were accurate. Pitch attacked the Guardians, true, but Jack had a sneaking suspicion whether if he like the Phantom were a devil who longed for heaven, and wished for companionship and a friend who would look past his façade of evil boogeyman who haunted the underbelly of caverns, and see him as someone ever casting their gaze up to the skies longing for their exile to end. It was a compelling thought, and the boy suddenly felt that he understood his reluctant friend just a little better.

Soon the intermission began and Jack stood up so to stretch and pop his stiff spine "I think this one is my new favorite."

Pitch nodded "I must admit it is giving Les Miserables a run for its money."

"Hey," the winter spirit turned with a smile "I'm gonna stretch my legs during the intermission and maybe take a look around the gift shop."

Pitch nodded waving one hand dismissively "Don't let me stop you, anything to keep you from falling asleep again."

"Ya just can't let that go, can you?" The sprite pouted as he stuck his tongue out and flew over the rail and down to the main floor.

The boy meandered towards the gift shop, his mind buzzing with an idea he had gotten during the end of the last act. Bouncing towards the small shop, he pressed his nose against the glass as he gazed at the Phantom masks they had for sale. The sprite had seen countless kids already wearing them, and he wanted to get one for Pitch both as a joke, and as a sort of thank you for coming to watch the show with him. Looking at the mask carefully, Jack used his power to craft a delicate mask made of ice, and pouring all his concentration into the gift, he imbued it with the power not to melt or break unless put in an extreme environment. After finishing it, Jack grinned at his creation, and then turned around to sprint back to their balcony and present Pitch with his gift. But he did not expect to run into something tall, and muscular, and…furry.

Looking up slowly Jack felt his already pale face go white as a sheet as he stared horrified at the person currently pinning him with a hot emerald glare.

"B-BUNNY?!"

**This was becoming extremely long, so Phantom of the Opera is becoming a two part mini arc. Hope you like my little cliff hanger!**


	52. Pitch's Passion3

"B-BUNNY?!"

"Yep, Bunny," Aster snarled as he placed a firm paw on Jack's shoulder and gave it a hard squeeze "why don't we go have a talk somewhere a bit quieter?"

"W-Wait! Come on Bunny, I'm not doing anything wrong," Jack stammered as he was dragged out of the crowd and towards an empty conference room "For heaven's sake, let me GO Kangaroo!"

"Nope," the rabbit spat "do you know how long I've been tailin' ya? Since ya left Pitch's cave, that's how long! Now we are gonna have ourselves a little chat, and you are goin' ta tell ol' Bunny just why yer keepin' company with our mortal enemy!"

As they reached the conference room, the winter sprite was flung into a chair, and Bunny dragged the chair directly next to it out and plopped himself down angrily. Jack crossed his arms with an unhappy pout "Don't you mean you're going to yell at me, and I'm going to listen while I get insulted and not have a chance to tell my side of the story?"

Aster opened his mouth but his voice died in his throat with a growl, his shoulders slightly deflating the rabbit leaned back and dragged a paw down his face tiredly "A'right," he finally sighed "tell me from the beginnin' why yer here at a theatre with Pitch."

"Let me warn you," Jack mumbled softly as he traced patterns on his pant leg with downcast eyes "it's gonna sound pret-ty crazy."

"I can deal with crazy if it's the truth," Aster replied as he finally felt himself calm down enough to focus on Jack's words.

Jack sent a scrutinizing glance at the rabbit and was relieved to see that Bunny's hackles had finally gone down and the Pooka looked ready to listen "Ok," he said solemnly "about a month ago I saw a nightmare enter this theatre, and I thought I should investigate so I followed it inside to see what it was up to."

"Good idea," Bunny grunted his keen gaze never leaving the boy sitting across from him.

"Thanks," Jack replied with just a hint of sarcasm "but when I got here, I ended up catching Pitch sitting in the balcony watching an opera."

Bunny raised an incredulous eyebrow "Pitch…likes opera?"

"Yeah, I know right?" Jack chuckled as he plunged back into his story "So anyways, Pitch freaked out and basically accused me of stopping him from having his version of fun during his personal time, which is of course ludicrous because I never stop anyone from having good healthy fun. I told him that I was only following his nightmare, and that's when Pitch told me that he comes here because he likes watching live productions of musicals and operas and that the one he was watching was his favorite and I'd never seen it before."

"Which one was it?" Bunny asked absently.

"Le Miserables," Jack replied "So like I was saying, I had never seen it before, so I asked if I could stay and watch it with him."

The rabbit felt his jaw drop in shock "You watched an opera entitled 'The Miserable'?"

"Bunny," Jack groaned "will you stop interrupting? I'm trying to finish my story. So anyways, I-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Bunny suddenly barked as he struggled to control a skeptical laugh "I'm still trying to process this that YOU watched Les Miserables!"

"Hey!" Jack defended with a childlike pout "I can watch cultured stuff, just because I'm the Guardian of fun doesn't mean I can't appreciate a good Opera. If people find something fun, then I'm directly connected to it, and tons of people like musicals and operas!"

"But…But…" Bunny squeaked helplessly as his arms waved wildly "the title is called 'The MISERABLE', how does that connote fun? At all?!"

"Well for your information," the boy sniffed indignantly "the acting was amazing, and I found the music well written and the song lyrics highly enjoyable; that and the fact that Pitch surprisingly has a pretty funny sense of humor when it comes to picking apart certain scenes and the characters."

Aster stilled becoming serious as he was once again reminded of his real purpose for being there "So," he said with a wave of his paw "go on and tell me the rest o' your story."

"Oh, right!" Jack thought a minute before remembering where he had left off and went back to his tale "So I stayed, and like I said, Pitch is pretty funny, and we actually managed to get along pretty well. Unfortunately though I accidentally fell asleep, and I woke up back at my lake."

"Wait," Bunny paused as his features went slack with shock and wonder "the Boogeyman took ya home, and didn't try ta hurt ya?"

"No, he didn't," Jack emphasized the last word hoping that Bunny would understand "he had the chance to, but he didn't. He took me home, and even left a note saying he had a good time."

"Wow," Bunny whistled "so what happened next that led ya to the two o' ya ta comin' here."

"Well," the winter spirit began to fidget uncomfortably as he struggled to find the accurate words that would describe what had happened before folding his legs up to his chest and pulling his hood over his head "I began to think that maybe Pitch wasn't as bad as we thought, that maybe he was just lonely and tired of being let down and always getting forgotten. So I thought, why not test it out, and see if I'm right. When I heard that this theatre was putting on Phantom of the Opera, I decided to go ask Pitch if he wanted to come with me, and he ended up coming. I'm sorry that I did this without telling anyone, but I just wanted to see for myself if…if maybe we were all wrong about him."

Aster sighed, suddenly feeling a stab of guilt at his worry that Jack had come here to join up with the Boogeyman. Placing both paws on Jack's shoulders the rabbit smirked down at the kid who was currently curled up in a ball waiting for the torrent of insults he thought to be coming.

"Jack," he said softly waiting for the boy to raise his face enough to peek from behind the material of his hood "ya didn't do a thing wrong."

Blue eyes went wide with shock, and Jack felt relieved tears sting his eyes "R-really?" he asked softly.

"Yeah," Bunny nodded before becoming thoughtful "well, I wouldn't say that you did everything absolutely correct either. It's one thing watching an impromptu opera with our enemy because you two just happened ta be in the same place, but I have to admit that it is completely different when you invite him out knowing how dangerous he could be."

"Are you going to tell North and then both of you yell at me?" Jack said with tear filled downcast eyes, his chin wrinkling as it trembled in both fear and guilt.

Bunny paused, his heart suddenly bursting with affection for the child who was trying so hard to be a good Guardian and a good person at the same time "Nah," he chuckled "I'm proud o' ya, yer tryin' ta do the right thing, and sometimes it takes a new pair o' eyes ta see that we haven't quite done a good job o' doin' that recently."

Jack smiled, one hand wiping his eyes and nose as he regained his composure "Thanks."

"Aw, don't thank me just yet there mate," Bunny smiled evilly "because now that ya know I'm here, I'm gonna watch the rest o' this Opera with ya."

"Wait," Jack paused "WHAT?!"

"Ya can't honestly expect me ta leave right in the middle, do ya?" Aster asked with a galvanized look "That would be downright improper, and I wanna see what happens."

"You…" the boy said slowly in shock "are going to watch an Opera, with me…and PITCH?"

"Yep," the rabbit smirked triumphantly "I said I didn't mind ya watchin' operas with him, but I didn't say anythin' about ya bein' allowed ta be alone without backup. I'm stayin' ta keep ya safe, and there's nothing' ya can do about it."

Jack stood there in shock until he finally shrugged his shoulders and shook his head "Ok," he said incredulously "but I have no idea how Pitch is gonna take this."

"If we're lucky, he'll leave."

Jack turned around and pinned the rabbit with a scolding glare, and Aster shrugged his shoulders "What? Old habits die hard ya know."

The winter sprite rolled his eyes with a smirk then turned around again "Come on Kangaroo, the intermission is almost over and we need to get back to the balcony seats."

…

Pitch sat in the chair, his fingers drumming on the armrest as he pondered a problem that had been bugging him for well over an hour. He felt like was being watched, and that was not acceptable considering he was the one who usually spied on people and made them squirm in discomfort. It was certainly not the other way around. Pitch was intent on figuring out who had been spying on him. Nevertheless the Boogeyman was just as intent on watching the rest of the show with Jack. Not because he cared about the brat, certainly not because of that, but because Jack would annoy him for the rest of eternity as revenge for escaping. Pitch shuddered at the thought, but turned when he heard footsteps coming up the stairway.

"Jack," Pitch growled "took you long enough, I thought you had lef-"

The Boogeyman stopped midsentence as his jaw dropped in shock at the sight that met his eyes "What…" he snarled menacingly "is the _rabbit_ doing here?"

"Well…" Jack drawled with a sheepish grin "he actually had been following me without my knowledge since I left your lair. Now he wants to watch the rest of Phantom with us."

"I'm only here for the kid," Bunny grunted as he plopped down a bucket of popcorn as a peace offering "and he wants to watch the opera with ya, don't ask me why, but that's what he wants so I'm gonna stay right here and protect him."

"Please," Pitch sighed with disdain "if I wanted to hurt him in any way, I would surely have done so by now."

"A valid point," Bunny nodded as he sat down next to Jack "but I would rather err on the side o' caution."

"So," Jack said brightly trying to stop the fight before it broke out "what does everyone think of the show so far?"

"I heartily approve," Pitch drawled his angry yellow gaze still locked on the Pooka "it is a masterpiece that proves that art can be beautiful even with a touch of darkness and does not need to be solely designated to eggs."

"Yeah," Aster growled his emerald eyes boring holes into the nemesis sitting on the other side of Jack "the Phantom kind o' reminds me o' someone I know, what with his cowardly skulkin' in the shadows and constant whinin' when things don't go his way."

"The Phantom is a metaphor for people who hold greatness, but are not given the opportunity to develop it due to societal views," the Boogeyman sneered making Jack turn his head to look at him with dread building in his cerulean gaze "but maybe that is too much depth for a garden animal."

"I can see the platitudes just fine," Bunny spat the winter spirit looking over to cast his eyes on the Pooka "he's a narcissistic, socially awkward, vengeful old man who likes ta pick on people who are just tryin' ta live their lives!"

"And what about _his_ life?!" Jack looked back over at Pitch as the man seethed at the rabbit "he was treated like a monster for the way he had been born, and was unable to help the fact that that was the way he was. But no, he wasn't allowed the opportunity or the gift to live a life as he chose, unable to allow others to see the gifts hidden inside of him, because everyone was too busy shunning him for things he had no control over!"

Bunny felt his arguments die in his throat and plummet to the floor along with his dignity. Hadn't he just congratulated Jack for treating Pitch as a friend and seeing a part of him that the Guardians chose not to see? And now here he was picking a fight and openly insulting Pitch just like he had always done. A spear of guilt punched him in the stomach, and Bunny sighed "True enough," he grumbled "true enough."

Pitch reeled back in shock, had Bunny actually just refrained from continuing their fight and agreed with him? The boogeyman felt his jaw drop as he struggled to comprehend what had just taken place, and Jack looked back and forth between the two, wincing at the awkward silence being drawn out before finally clearing his throat garnering the two warring spirit's attention.

"So," Jack chuckled nervously "anyone want some popcorn?"

"Sure," Bunny grunted grabbing a paw full of the popped salted kernels and stuffing them in his mouth "these're good."

Jack offered the bucket to Pitch, a smile on his face entreating the man to cheer up and try to make do despite the situation. The Boogeyman rolled his eyes, knowing that by doing this was a sure sign he was going soft, and grabbed a hand of popcorn. "Fine," he hissed.

"Oh," Jack jumped "I forgot!"

The two watched Jack dig in the pocket of his hoodie struggling to pull something out until he pulled out a glittering Phantom's mask, which the winter spirit proudly presented to the Boogeyman "Here," he smiled "you sang the Phantom's part so well, I thought you should have a souvenir from the Opera."

Pitch gingerly picked it up, his face unreadable as he held it between delicate fingertips. He was once again speechless by the sheer amount of generosity and kindness that the boy was showing without any sign of an ulterior motive. It was utterly incomprehensible, the man was unable to wrap his mind around this strange boy known as Jack Frost, and he was unsure if trying to was worth the consequences that would inevitably occur should he allow himself to become friends with the boy and give him a chance. Finally he turned to Jack and nodded.

"Thank you Jack," he practically whispered "it's beautiful."

Bunny pursed his lips thoughtfully at Pitch's reaction to Jack's gift before shaking his head and giving a smirk "I like it," he chuckled "it'll look really nice for next time he sings."

Pitch felt pure undiluted horror clench his stomach "Y-You," he stammered "You…heard?"

"Yep," the rabbit nodded "it was pretty good, the guy down there would be put out o' a job if anyone could hear ya."

Pitch snarled at the Pooka "You don't have to remind me of my lack of believers and mock me in the same breath you know."

"I wasn't" Bunny raised his paws defensively "I didn't mean ta talk about yer believers, 'cuz I don't have too many in this crowd either…and I was bein' serious about ya havin' a good voice, I wasn't bein' sarcastic."

Pitch was tired of being struck dumb from shock, and for once thanked all that was holy because the show started up again, saving him from having to answer the rabbit. Once more the plot began to unfold as the actors reclaimed their roles, depicting the masquerade ball where they discovered that Christine and Raoul were engaged, and then the Phantom came on the scene throwing out his challenge to the managers to put on his opera he had written Don Juan Triumphant. The opera troupe knew better than to question the Phantom for he had already made his point clear through the hanging of one of the stage workers, and they were too afraid to try and cross him. But Raoul convinced the managers and Christine to go along with the Phantom's demands so they may capture him at the premier of his work, and thereby end their troubles.

Jack watched in slack jawed wonder as he listened to the Ballet instructor tell Raoul how the Phantom came to be. The horror filled tale how the Phantom had lived with a troupe of gypsies and had been displayed as freak in a dingy cage, labeled as the Devil's child. The ballet instructor, a young child then, had freed him almost being caught by the gypsy keeping him prisoner but the Phantom had killed the man. Both of them ran, and the girl had hid him below the Opera house where he grew up listening to the Operas being put on and used the considerable resources of the theatre to study architecture, music, design, and the art of illusion. His genius, in the solitude of the catacombs below the opera house, had slowly become madness, madness so deep that it sucked in the opera house and all its inhabitants in a dark hole with no hope of escape.

The scene changed to Christine going to the cemetery to visit the grave of her father, walking amongst gravestone that rose from trap doors in the middle of the stage while thick mist roiled along the floor. Finally monument rolled onstage, and Christine stopped in front of it, falling to her knees, clutching the rose to her chest and casting desperate eyes to the tombstone marking her father's final resting place. Opening her mouth, she began to sing, her eyes closing as she poured out her sorrows on the cold steps of her father's grave.

_You were once my one companion,_

_You were all that mattered_

_You were once a friend and father_

_Then my world was shattered_

_Wishing you were somehow here again_

_Wishing you were somehow near_

_Sometimes it seemed if I just dreamed_

_Somehow you would be here_

_Wishing I could hear your voice again_

_Knowing that I never would_

_Dreaming of you won't help to do_

_All that you dreamed I could_

Bunny felt his whiskers twitch as he bowed his head in grief, visions of the countless dead whom were still buried on his home planet floating through his thoughts. Clasping his paws together, the rabbit rested his forehead against them, trying to ward off the unwanted feelings that the song was awakening within him.

_Passing bells and sculpted angels_

_Cold and monumental_

_Seem for you the wrong companions_

_You were warm and gentle_

Pitch felt the fear and sorrow rolling off the rabbit in palpable waves, his lips pursing as an uncomfortable and entirely unwelcome feeling of concern flashed through his heart. He watched as Bunny bit his bottom lip, covering his face with his paws, his shoulders jerking as he struggled to holding in the violent sobs being held within his shaking frame.

_Too many years fighting back tears_

_Why can't the past just DIE?!_

_Wishing you were somehow here again!_

_Knowing we must say goodbye_

_Try to forgive_

_Teach me to live_

_Give me the strength to try!_

_No more memories!_

_No more silent tears_

_No more gazing across the wasted years_

_Help me say goodbye_

_Help me say goodbye_

As the last note faded away into the darkness, the rabbit suddenly stood, wiping his nose and walking to the back of the balcony with a rough cough his face dark with the sorrows of the past grieving his heart. Jack looked at the Pooka, one eyebrow raised with confusion, and then turned to Pitch "I think that song may have been too much for him." He whispered worriedly.

Pitch nodded, then stood after patting Jack on the shoulder "Watch the sword fight," he whispered "I'll see if I can convince the rabbit to come back."

Jack felt torn, he wanted to comfort Bunny, but Pitch seemed to want that honor instead, which was beyond surprising entering into the realm of making his brain explode from the sheer shock of it. But finally he just nodded, and turned back to the show, his teeth worrying his bottom lip. Pitch walked away, seeking out the Pooka, finding him standing in the darkened stairway his eyes glittering with tears and his shoulders shaking as he fought the sobs that caused his shoulders to jerk and shudder. "

"Bunny," Pitch spoke softly causing the Pooka to jump.

"Leave me alone," Aster said in a strangled whisper "I don't wanna talk, and you don't wanna hear me whine about the past, so do us both a favor and just go back ta the show."

"Does Jack know," the man persisted ignoring Bunny's plea for solitude "about what happened to your kind."

"Yeah," the Pooka sighed "I told him three years ago."

Pitch nodded, his lips pursing in thought "Is it really so painful for you, despite how much time has passed?"

"Has it gotten easier for you?" Aster snarled with emerald eyes reflecting the dim light only helping to accentuate his grief "Being alone, all the time, and knowing that you have no one? If it weren't for the Guardians and Jack, I doubt I would still be here, I doubt I would be alive. But in the end, I still go back to an empty warren that is full of memories about my past, stuffed with relics and heirlooms that my family and kind held dear, and now I'm their keeper. I'm not worthy of being a Guardian of hope, I'm nothing more than a gardener for the dead."

Pitch sighed "You speak of loneliness, but you ask to be left alone?" the man smirked trying a different tactic to try and cheer up the rabbit "Sounds like you have things a bit mixed up in that rabbit brain of yours."

"What are ya talking about?" Bunny moaned.

"You just said that the Guardians are what keep you going," the man shrugged carelessly "but I bet you don't let them comfort you, don't let them share the burden when the pain becomes too much. So in reality, your loneliness is self made and self inflicted. The only reason you're alone, is because you do not try to reach out to others when you need them most."

"I don't deserve them!" Bunny whispered harshly "my kind is dead, and it's my fault. I'm a failure, and I couldn't save them, not even one of them, how can I reach out ta others when I know that my paws are stained with the blood o' my race?!"

"How could you have saved them?" Pitch snarled as he grabbed Bunny by the bag slung across his chest and pulled him close "your kind had an army, and they still could not defeat the monsters that destroyed them, how could you have made any difference?"

"I…!" Aster burst out before deflating his ears drooping "…I don't know…"

"Exactly my point," Pitch sighed as he rolled his eyes "you are beating yourself up to the point of self harm, and while I would normally love to watch you suffer in such a way, Jack would have my head if I did and so I must talk some sense into your thick skull despite my misgivings. So if you are quite done, can you please regain your composure, paste a semi believable smile on your idiotic face, and go back in there so that Jack will stop worrying and annoying the fire out of me."

Bunny blinked slowly as Pitch's words sunk in, but before he had the chance to speak, the Boogeyman had already turned around and stalked back to his seat. Clearing his throat and squaring his shoulders, the rabbit walked back into the theatre and took his seat next to Jack "What'd I miss?" he whispered.

"The Phantom's opera," Jack replied as he leaned towards Bunny without tearing his gaze away from the stage "apparently Christine unmasked him in front of everybody when he snuck onstage in the guise of Don Juan, and he dragged her down to the catacombs, and Raoul followed and just managed to find his way to the lair."

"Gotcha," the Pooka nodded "Sounds good."

The scene progressed and all three were on the edge of their seats as the Phantom strung up Raoul by the neck with a noose, screaming at Christine to make a choice between them. Jack pouted at the thought "Why can't she choose Raoul as the man she loves, but helps the Phantom escape the Opera and find a life of his own?"

"He's a murderer now," Pitch murmured "he cannot escape that fact, and so she must choose to either die with him, or go back up to the surface with Raoul."

"Sad, but true," Bunny nodded "he put himself in that prison, and he built the walls around himself so thick, he can no longer escape. That is what happens when ya put yerself in a self imposed exile without trying ta improve yer life yourself and not letting pothers help ya rather than dependin' on others ta the point of makin' them miserable."

Pitch smirked at the subtle way Bunny had told him that everything the Boogeyman had told him had been received and understood. Soon the curtain call came, and Jack was rubbing his eyes with the heel of his hand, a wide yawn stretching his mouth. Bunny ruffled the child's head and winked at Pitch "I'll take Snowflake home he's about ta topple over."

"Indeed," Pitch sighed with a smirk "he has a terrible habit of falling asleep at the end of a perfectly good Opera."

"I do not!" Jack grumbled tiredly "And I'm not tired."

But the words were proven wrong by the fatigue written across his face, and Bunny gave a chuckle as he grabbed the protesting teen and tossed him over one shoulder. Tapping the ground, the rabbit saluted Pitch "Bye Pitch, and…uh…thanks."

The Boogeyman watched them leave, a ghost of a smile playing over his lips. Maybe coming here with Jack hadn't turned out as badly as he thought it would. That thought was quickly met by a violent slap across his face.

"I'm an idiot… who's gotten soft…GRAHH!"

**Hope you guys enjoyed this! Don't forget to REVIEW!**


	53. Pitch's Passion4

**So everyone really likes this little Pitch arc where everyone ends up watching a play of some sort with the Boogeyman, and so I thought to bring in yet another newcomer and just keep adding on. Three guesses to whom is joining their next outing!**

Spring, it had been almost five months since the trip to see Phantom of the Opera, and Easter had come and gone. Pitch was relieved to have had the break as he had been worried that his attitude may have caused the two Guardians to think him congenial and try to encourage more little outings with him. The Boogeyman was many things, but he was most certainly not on friendly terms with…ugh…Guardians. But luck it seemed was on his side, for neither the boy nor the rabbit had bothered him in the past weeks since the Phantom of the Opera, and Pitch hoped to keep it that way. A content smile lit the dark specter's face as he lifted his arms above his head, a happy sigh slipping out, life was good. He was the Nightmare King, he was being left alone, and there were no annoying Guardians in sight.

Walking around the bend of his lair, his hands clasped behind his back, Pitch fought off the inane urge to hum happily when he stopped his eyes widening in shock and his jaw dropping. "No…" he murmured "Nononononono…"

There sat an egg, and not just any egg, but a painted egg with stubby legs stood in the middle of one of his many tunnels. The Boogeyman bent down, his eyebrow twitching as his fingers closed around the delicate item, and brought it up to eye level inspecting the paint. It was done tastefully, and Pitch swallowed a gag when he felt impressed awe invade his mind at the way the blacks, grays, and whites had been combined to form a modern looking design that surprisingly had a touch of darkness that only made the art stand out more. But the worst part was what the geometric designs created, they made a message, and the words caused Pitch to groan in aggravation.

"Not again," the man moaned.

….

Bunny smiled as he finished up the last touches on a winter themed egg that he had written a special message on meant for Jack. He had been surfing on the internet on his laptop the other day, bored out of his mind with the post Easter lull, and for fun he decided to see what the Opera house in Chicago was putting on for the weekend. What he had discovered made his skin tingle with excitement, and his whiskers twitch in expectation. He had already delivered Pitch's egg, knowing Jack would want to invite the man, and all he had to do was get this egg to Burgess. Blowing on the paint to speed its drying, he then gently placed it within his pouch, patting it with one paw ensuring its safety.

"Whatcha doin?"

Bunny jumped almost over a foot in the air as he turned around with a gasp "Tooth!" he burst "Ya scared me about half ta death, what are ya doin' sneakin' up behind me?!"

"I wasn't sneaking," Tooth pouted "but you were on the internet in the living room when all of a sudden you freaked out and started painting eggs." Her face suddenly turned devilish as she leaned in close and grinned in Aster's face "Easter is over, and you shouldn't be painting eggs…so…Whatcha doin' Bunny?"

Aster sighed, knowing that the only way out of this was to tell the truth, so in pained tones he gave the fairy the whole story from Jack finding Pitch at Les Miserables, to following said winter sprite all the way to Phantom of the Opera. Tooth listened carefully her eyes growing wider and wider as she processed the tale. Finally the story was over, and Bunny sighed dragging a paw down his face, unable to look Tooth in the face.

"So," Bunny said softly "what do ya think."

Tooth's lips stammered as she struggled to find the right words before shrieking "You guys did WHAT?!"

….

Jack landed gracefully on the street outside the theatre, his eyes bright and a large smile on his face when he saw the familiar outline of the Boogeyman leaning against the building "Heya Pitch!"

"Jack," the specter nodded apathetically "before you start jabbering, I need to know why, of all people, did the rabbit call me out here…with an encrypted egg."

"I don't know," Jack shrugged "I got the same thing, just an egg with a secret message hid amongst the snowflakes telling me to head to the Chicago theatre asap."

Pitch pursed his lips thoughtfully, his brain working as he considered why the Easter Bunny would call them here, except for the fact that they might be watching another show. If the latter, then Pitch hoped that it wasn't something too ridiculous. As he contemplated this, Bunny wandered around the corner from the alley, his face a nervous smile as he wrung his hands anxiously. Giving a small wave, the Pooka cleared his throat.

"H-Hey," he gave a strangled squeak.

"Was'sup," Jack smiled.

"Rabbit," Pitch growled "why am I here, and why are you acting like a nervous…well, rabbit."

"We're here ta watch a show I found on the internet," Bunny replied and then gave a heavy gulp "and I'm not actin' nervous…at all."

"Uh-huh," Pitch smirked "then why are you wringing your paws to the bone, and refusing to look me in the eye?"

"I'm not wringing my paws," Aster growled "and I'm not lookin' at ya because yer a creepy guy."

Jack cracked up "As funny as that was Kangaroo, I have to agree with Pitch. You're acting like you have really bad news."

"Welllll…." Aster laughed nervously.

"Hey guys!"

Pitch and Jack both looked up to see a flurry of multicolored feathers. Their eyes bugged out, and both spirits let out a shriek of shock as they jumped back and fell on the ground. Tooth landed on the sidewalk, her face lit by a bright smile.

"So Bunny told me about your little trips," she chirped "and I decided that they sounded fun and I wanted to join you on the latest one."

"BUNNY!" both spirits yelled their faces taut with anger.

"WHAT?!" Aster yelled back as he spread his paws out helplessly "she snuck up behind me and asked what I was doin', what was I supposed ta do, LIE?!"

"Yes!" Pitch spat before he sighed and sneered at the rabbit "Oh I forgot, you're a Guardian, you are _incapable _of lying."

"Hey!" the boy squawked "I can lie, how do you think I pull off all those pranks?!"

"You're new," Pitch smirked "you have yet to be corrupted."

"Guys, guys," Tooth soothed "its ok! I think this is a great idea, and I just wanted to have fun too, unless you want to keep this an all guy thing."

Pitch sighed and massaged his temples while Jack shrugged his shoulders, and Bunny smiled sheepishly at Tooth. Finally they had all muttered their consent, and Tooth was bubbling her thanks at giving her permission to join their guy club.

"So," Jack said turning to the Pooka "what show do you want us to watch?"

"Oh right!" Bunny burst out "I found out this theatre is doing a live production of the play The Secret Garden!"

"Count on a rabbit to want to watch a show about a garden," Pitch smirked.

"It sounds boring," Jack whined.

"It isn't boring!" Bunny defended "It is a very inspiring play that has interesting characters and plot."

Jack pursed his lips unconvinced and Pitch raised an incredulous eyebrow before they both heaved a sigh. "Fine," Jack groaned "I'll give it a chance, but if it's boring I'm dying your fur pink!"

"And I'm helping," Pitch sneered.

"Alright, no more fighting!" Tooth burst as she fought against the giggles causing her shoulders to jerk and convulse "Let's just go find our seats, and watch the show!"

"Agreed," Bunny grumbled as the group marched into the building.

Eventually the former trio made it up to their usual balcony seat, but stopped to see the unwelcome sight of two teenagers sitting in their seats, thoroughly involved in kissing each other ardently. Jack's face morphed into a look of supreme disgust, while Bunny face palmed and Toothiana blushed looking away into some other corner of the theatre. Pitch looked furious, his hands balled into fists as a grumpy pout pursed his lips.

"It is one thing to have to deal with the impropriety if humans in parks, alleyways, and parking lots," he snarled "but not in MY FAVORITE SEAT!"

Jack and Bunny exchanged looks of amusement before sidling closer to the dark man "So what ya wanna do?" Bunny asked in a hushed whisper.

"Yeah," Jack giggled "wanna scare them away?"

If Pitch's eyebrow went any higher it would have floated off his face, but he could not suppress the grin of maniacal glee at the thought of having two _Guardians_ assist him in a shenanigan. "Well," he purred "we could use their belief against them…I seem to remember a certain prank the two of you pulled at an amusement park which should do the trick."

Aster chuckled evilly and Jack fell on the floor clutching his sides in helpless giggles before straightening up again "Sounds awesome," he smirked before making an 'ick' face at the slurping going on behind them "we better work fast before they suck each other's faces off."

"Can I help?" Tooth grinned "I can be evil too!"

The boys shared looks of tolerant skepticism and Bunny puffed his chest smirking at the fairy "Let the boys work," he grunted "we've got it under control."

Toothiana crossed her arms with an angry huff, her wings buzzing behind her irritably, but the male spirits were already working on their plan to scare off the teenaged couple.

Walking over, Pitch scrutinized the couple before smirking at the two Guardians "We seem to be in luck," he whispered "the boy is addicted to horror movies, and surprisingly the girl has been raised on stories about the Boogeyman. They both still hold enough childlike belief for the Guardians and should be able to hear your voice at the very least."

"Good," Bunny grinned before turning to the winter spirit "Jack, go do yer stuff."

"Right!" the sprite saluted Bunny before flying over to the couple.

Sitting on the back rests of the chairs between them, the boy focused his power to create one area in the theatre extremely cold, specifically that spot. The two teenagers broke apart, completely unaware of the grinning and giggling spirit currently sitting between their heads. The young girl cast scared eyes around before they landed once again on her boyfriend, softly exhaling, she gasped at the way her breath crystallized into fog in front of her. The boy also experimented with his breath, jerking a hand to his mouth to discover his lips were covered in frost. Both let out nervous laughs, their gaze becoming shaky and paranoid.

"It's probably just the air conditioning vent up here going wacky from the remodeling being done," the boy shrugged.

"Y-Yeah," the girl chattered as she rubbed her arms.

"I'll go get a coat from my car," the boy stood up and walked a couple feet away before pausing "Weird," he muttered.

"What?" the teen girl asked quietly.

"It's, like, really warm over here." The kid chuckled nervously.

"Wait," the girl panicked "it's warm…over _there_?"

"Yeah, you try it to your side."

The girl jumped up and found it warmer outside of the area of the seats "Oh no," she whimpered "I know what this is…I've seen it on Ghost Hunters…we're sitting in a COLD SPOT!"

The boy's eyes widened before he shrugged it off and gave another anxious giggle that cracked at the end "Come on Stacy, you know ghosts don't exist!"

"Yeah they do Brandon," Stacy whispered "my mom used to tell me about the Boogeyman and how he used to steal bad children!"

"That's stupid!" Brandon scoffed.

"No it's not!" Stacy scoffed "don't you know the ghost stories about the third balcony in this theatre?"

"…No…" Brandon answered slowly.

"They say," Stacy began in a low scary voice "that back in 1903 this theatre caught on fire, and no one could escape from the flames. They say that this balcony is haunted because the stairway was on fire, and people jumped over the railing, and fell to their deaths…and even now, you can still hear their screams and that's why this balcony is never open to the public."

Tooth pursed her lips, then smiled evilly, walking behind the two, she drew in a deep breath, and let out a high pitched shriek. Bunny, Pitch, and Jack all jumped but the teenagers froze their eyes becoming wide as they began to tremble violently. Aster winked at the fairy, and then joined her, their voices mingling as they gave their own performance of death screams. Jack intensified the cold, and Pitch manipulated the atmosphere making an illusion around them of flames licking the walls. Stacy leapt into Brandon's arms, her breath coming in short shallow gasps as she began to hyperventilate in fear. Pitch smirked before disappearing and then changing his appearance. The teens gasped when they saw the transparent form of a man slowly burning to death begin to climb up the railing from beyond the balcony. One charred hand reached out to them, as an agonized face moaned in pain.

"Join us," he groaned "this place is cursed, all who come here will eventually…BURN!"

Finally the couple couldn't take it anymore, and letting out a shriek of pure terror, ran from the building and down the street, their mouths agape as they screamed. Pitch dropped the illusion around the building and himself, only to hang over the railing laughing himself silly. Bunny was sitting on the floor back to back with Toothiana, the fairy fanning herself as the two giggled and snorted. Jack was sitting in the theatre seat, his legs slung over the arms as he cackled gleefully. Reaching over the winter spirit got a high five from Bunny, their eyes bright in triumph.

"That," Jack giggled "Was. AWESOME!"

"I have to admit," Tooth laughed breathlessly "that was a lot of fun!"

"Yeah," Aster nodded "and good on the scream by the way, perfect idea ta add ta our little prank."

"Why thank you," the fairy accepted graciously "I couldn't just sit by and let YOU guys have all the fun!"

Pitch was still beside himself with laughter, his face becoming a dark gray as he ran out of oxygen "T-That," he gasped "was…indescribable! I can't believe they fell for it!"

"You're burning man was fantastic!" Jack bounced in his chair "I didn't know you could do that!"

The group once again melted into a round of laughter, wiping tears of mirth from their eyes before falling silent. Pitch finally crawled off the railing, and marched to his seat, a large grin of victory lighting his features. "Once their story gets out," he purred "then this seat will well and truly be mine."

"See, now ya just sound like the Phantom," Aster laughed as he changed his voice to sound spooky "'Box five must always be empty!'"

"I'll take that as a compliment," Pitch sniffed as he sat down and snuggled into his favorite chair.

"Ok!" Tooth grinned with a punch to the air "though I doubt anything will be entertaining after that little show, let's watch The Secret Garden!"

"Bunny, do you promise this won't be boring?" Jack pleaded.

"Jack…" the rabbit sighed "you sat through Les Miserables…"

"He slept through Les Miserables," Pitch muttered earning a glare from Jack.

"…and you watched Phantom of the Opera…" Bunny continued.

"He would have fallen asleep during that one too," Pitch cut in again getting a swat from the offended winter sprite "if it weren't for the fact that he had two people keeping him awake that time."

Aster swallowed the chuckle that was threatening to overwhelm him "…If ya can handle those, I think ya won't mind this show here."

"Fine," Jack grumped still glaring at the smirking Boogeyman "but I mean what I said before, if it's boring I'm dying your fur pink."

"A'right," Bunny nodded before winking at Pitch "but if ya fall asleep, Pitch, Tooth, and I get ta give ya a makeover."

"Wait…WHAT?!"

Oh that's a good idea!" Tooth gushed "there is one particular look I've been dying to try, but I need a guinea pig first before I can make a decision."

"…No…"

"I agree," the dark man chuckled evilly "I'm sure we could come up with something very…interesting."

"…No…!"

"And I have new colors that I want ta see how they look when dry," Bunny added in "I bet your hair would look great with a touch of fuschia."

"…NO!..."

"So is it a deal?" the three asked as they leaned in menacingly with the shadows playing across their faces giving them a macabre appearance.

"I don't care," Jack pouted "because I'm NOT going to fall asleep!"

"We'll see," Pitch cackled as he rubbed his hands together in excitement "we'll see."

"Oh this is gonna be fun," Bunny grinned.

"I'm so excited!" Tooth buzzed happily "I need to think about clothes, and shoes, and accessories…OH! And we should totally dress up Rex too!"

"Leave my dog outta this!" Jack snapped.

"Too late kid," Bunny guffawed "yer stuck."

Jack opened his mouth to retort, but the lights dimmed and the show began, leaving the boy fuming in his seat. With a sigh Jack leaned back into his chair and crossed his arms unhappily, this play better be good, otherwise he was going to make Bunny pay. Regardless of who won…or lost. As the orchestra began, and the host came out to do the opening introduction to the production, Jack suddenly began thinking about what kind of makeover would be wrought by the combined works of Pitch, Tooth and Bunny. It was lucky that none of the humans heard him, otherwise they would have been frightened by a very high pitched scream loaded with terror.

**Don't worry, I WILL write them actually watching the show, and will eventually bring all the Guardians in to their little "secret", but I thought this sounded like a fun idea. **

**Read, REVIEW, and enjoy!**

**MyHeartsDesire, you won the latest 100****th**** reviewer games prompt! Give me your request and I will get to it as soon as I can!**

**Please NOTE: I am currently in New Mexico on a Navajo Indian reservation for the week. I may not have a lot of time to write, so if my updates become sporadic, I apologize but it cannot be avoided as I have a very important job to do here. **

**THANKS!**


	54. Human Bunny8

**Ok, I'm so sorry *dodges flying fruit* I didn't mean to disappear for so long *dodges a boot* but things got crazy busy! *dodges a kitchen sink* Please forgive me!**

**In other news, I am happy to announce that raising money for my missionary trip to Ireland is going well, and I even got to go on the radio as a guest co host to talk about my trip! So I'm looking forward to what the future holds.**

**As a thank you, I have decided to upload the end of one of my most popular arcs…**

**HUMAN BUNNY! *listens to the echo fade off into the distance***

**Shall we?**

The next morning dawned bright and early, and Aster rolled over from what had been a sleepless night. The teen groaned as the sun cut through his eyelids, and forced him to an ever more coherent form of wakefulness, making the former Pooka sit up and give a heavy sigh. North's words rung in the back of his mind like the echo of a death toll over a battle ravaged city, and Aster found as he followed Jack and North towards the mountain that he couldn't concentrate due to the distress that that one harmless question caused within him. And as much as the former rabbit hated to say it, due to it making him sound like a petulant child, it just wasn't fair.

Jack walked next to him, his face solemn and pensive as he examined his friend's stumbling gait, and the way he couldn't bring himself to look at either of them in the eye. The sighing was another thing that was bothering him. Bunny had been letting out a forlorn sigh every five minutes or so, usually accompanied by a frustrated growl while raking his fingers through gray hair. It made Jack nervous and jumpy just feeling the palpable waves of despair and inner turmoil that were arcing off the larger teen's frame. The smaller boy groaned, if Bunny sighed one more time, he was going to slap him with a fish, a big smelly fish and then after they turned him back to normal he was going to permanently dye the Pooka's hair pink.

Bunny trudged along, his head down, and his hands firmly shoved into his pockets as he glared fiercely at the ground beneath him. Running his hands once again over his scalp, the former rabbit sighed kicking a bit of rock as he did so, causing Jack to suddenly explode into irritated snarls next to him, his face screwing into a visage of supreme displeasure.

"That's IT!" he screamed "Where's the nearest lake?!"

"Uh…" Bunny blinked in confusion "…Why…?"

"Because I need a fish!" Jack continued to yell.

"I surely hope that makes sense ta ya, Snowflake," Bunny murmured as one eyebrow began to rise with concern over Jack's mental health "because it don't ta me."

"Who cares if it makes sense to you," the frost spirit cried as he grabbed Aster by the front of his jacket "now tell me where it is before I do something that we'll both regret!"

"There's one about five miles due southeast," Aster pointed but quickly stopped the spirit before he took off "but regardless of what ya need a fish for, there aren't any, and there haven't been any since this world was attacked and destroyed."

"Wha-WHAT?!" Jack groaned in frustration "Whattaya mean, there aren't any?! Now what am I gonna hit you with?!"

"Like I said there aren't any…wait…hit me?" Aster paused before pinning Jack with a stern glare and crossing his arms, flexing the muscular biceps "And why do ya want ta hit me…Snowflake?"

"Because," the boy snarled "you won't stop sighing, and growling, and for heaven's sake Bunny if you run your fingers through your hair one more time at your current rate of speed, you're going to go bald!"

Aster stared at the boy currently fuming in front of him suddenly realizing that his turbulent mood had somehow affected the winter spirit, and why shouldn't it? Jack's core was the spirit of fun, meaning that he, like the other Guardians, was keenly in tune to the emotions of others, if not even more so due to his youth. Children were always best at sensing the emotions and undercurrents in a person's spirit than adults were, and so while Bunny may have North somewhat fooled, Jack was seeing his turmoil for what it was, bluntly and honestly. Well, he may not know exactly what it was or the cause, but the boy could definitely tell something was wrong, and it was bothering him to no end. Aster fought the grieved sigh that wanted to creep up his throat, not wishing to infuriate the frost child even more, and merely bit his lip in pained silence.

"Jack," the former rabbit said slowly "I'm sorry mate, I told ya that we were brothers and that we're family but I'm back ta bein' my old stubborn self."

"You talked to me when I was cleaning up your injury," Jack pouted "so what's so bad that you won't talk to me now?"

"It's just…" the former Pooka struggled "North…He…he said…he asked me if I wanted ta stay a human."

Jack took a small step back, his blue eyes growing wide as his lips trembled in dread "And…what did you say?"

"I don't know…" Bunny shrugged helplessly his voice cracking with emotion "I just…don't know, a'right? I wish I did, but I don't. I'm tired of bein' alone, and I'm tired of bein' the last of my kind. But…" Aster paused as he swallowed back a heavy sob and wiped away thick tears that tried to spill down his cheeks "But I don't wanna disappear neither."

Aster knelt to the ground as his body began to tremble violently "I don't wanna disappear," he croaked miserably through his tears "but I don't wanna be alone and the last o' my kind again…I just don't know Jack."

Jack bit his lip as the former Pooka gave in to the fear and grief eating him from the inside out, unable to offer comfort or console the larger teen. "I mean," Bunny continued as he rocked back and forth "I've spent centuries being the strong silent warrior, never letting anyone know my pain…or my fear. But then THIS happens, and I'm an emotional wreck, and I can't even see hope anymore, and I'm terrified Jack, I'm terrified of my future regardless of which path I choose. What do I do?"

Bunny hid his face in his arms, and Jack looked up to see North waiting patiently a few yards away, his eyes firmly set in the direction of the mountain as he gave the boys some privacy. Looking back to the former rabbit, Jack found himself sighing as the larger teen dissolved further and further into helpless sobs, his long fingers gripping the back of his scalp as he kept his face buried in the crook of his elbow. His shoulders jerked and convulsed as he struggled to keep the sobbing down to a minimum, but it was a battle that he was losing in a spectacular fashion. Jack could tell how stressed out his friend was, and knew that the only way to get him to find a semblance of peace was to help him release those feelings, and so with measured steps the boy softly crept forward and wrapped his arms around Bunny.

"Well," the frost child whispered "one thing you can do is stop trying to bottle up your feelings and let someone else help you carry your burden for a change."

North smiled, he was going to let Jack take care of this, but the paternal instinct within him was screaming to hug the tortured bunny as well. Walking over, the large man sat himself down, and drew both Jack and Aster onto his lap, hugging them both close to his broad chest. Jack didn't let go, despite the awkward position, and just snuggled closer to Aster, hoping that the Guardian would somehow feel how much both he and North cared about him. Bunny's trembles increased, as did the amount of tears streaming down his face, and finally he allowed himself to lean against North and wrap his arms around Jack and give in to the cry out he so desperately needed.

"I'm so sorry," he wept brokenly "I'm so…so…sorry!"

"You do not need to apologize," North cooed soothingly as he rubbed Bunny's back "you are going through very hard time, I would be worried if you were taking this like strong silent warrior."

"Not…about tha-at!" Bunny wailed feeling every bit like a small child "I can't choose!"

Jack opened his mouth, and then closed it, his cerulean gaze glancing up helplessly at North begging him to say something profound and helpful. The large man smiled, biting back a chuckle "Bunny," his deep baritone rumbled "we are not asking you to choose, but know one thing, you are not alone. I understand that you are last of your kind, but you are not alone, you have a family who loves you. Tooth wants so badly to be like a mother to you and Jack, and I can only hope that one day you both can see me as a father. Sandy watches over you and considers himself much like a grandparent, and then there is the case of Jack. He is your little brother Aster, and he needs your protection and guidance. He has been alive for three hundred years, yes, but even he knows that at his core is still very much still an innocent child. Jack needs an older brother to play with, to fight with, and to strive to be like, he needs you."

Jack blushed at the honest appraisal North was giving, but kept his arms firmly wrapped around the trembling teen "We love you," the frost child whispered "you know that, right?"

"Y-yeah," Aster sniffled as he rubbed his nose with the heel of his hand "I know it, Snowflake."

"Then why," Jack's voice cracked and his chin began to tremble as he hid his face into Bunny's shoulder to hide his own failure at fighting back the tears "why can't you just stay with us and be happy? Why can't you let US be your family, instead of saying you're still all alone?"

"Aw Jack," Bunny groaned snuggling Jack close as the affect of the winter spirit's words hit him full force "I'm sorry mate, yer right, and I should be thinkin' of ya as my family. I have been so caught up in the past I forgot who all of ya wanted ta be for me, and let myself get trapped in the mindset that I was alone. I'm sorry Jack, it is huge mistake on my part, one I never want ta make again."

"Good," Jack sniffled wiping his tears on Bunny's bomber jacket "because if you do, I'll dye your hair pink…and green…and purple!"

Aster felt laughter, sweet blessed laughter, bubble up in his stomach "Is…Is that your answer ta everythin'?" he chuckled softly as his laughter slowly built in volume "Ta dye my fur some medley of atrocious colors?"

"No," Jack whined as he looked up to direct a pout at the rabbit "I _was_ going to slap you with a fish…but that plan failed before it could even begin!"

Bunny snorted as he tried to get his laughter under control, but it didn't work and soon he was leaning against North's chest, wiping away tears of mirth. His laughter, so carefree and full of relief from the dark cloud of depression and stress, was infective. Soon Jack was giggling helplessly, and North was letting out long loud guffaws. The trio sat like that, embracing each other and laughing their heads off for a solid ten minutes until finally their laughter died down to soft chuckles, leaving them slightly winded, but glowing with familial love and happiness. Aster sent a lopsided grin over to Jack, and pulled him closer so that he was sitting in his lap, while North squeezed the boys in his arms tight against his chest.

"Yer a good little brother Frostbite," Aster whispered as he hugged the winter spirit tenderly "I'm sorry that I haven't been a good big brother ta ya."

Jack snuggled into Aster's shoulder, his hands clenching the material of his shirt "You're a great big brother," he replied softly "the best, but you just need to work on remembering that we're family, and you don't have to act tough 24/7 around us anymore."

"A'right," Aster chuckled as he gently deposited Jack back onto the ground and stood up "now how's about we get walkin' and climb that mountain?"

"Sounds good to me," Jack grinned.

"Indeed," North nodded as he stood up and joined Bunny "let's get moving, we are running out of time and we need to move quickly to make up for what was lost."

Bunny and Jack nodded, their faces solemn with determination, and soon once again the trio was walking towards the mountain peak looming over them.

…

"Took you long enough," Tooth pouted "what, did you guys stop for take-out?"

"Uh…." Jack paused as he sent a lopsided grin towards his comrades "we got a little…sidetracked."

"Well, now that you're here," the fairy sighed with a fond smile as she suddenly noticed the light hopeful atmosphere surrounding the trio "let's get a move on and find that temple."

"YEAH!" Jack cheered.

"A'right," Aster responded with a determined nod "According ta the nursery rhyme, we are already where sky and water meet."

"The next line says 'When the sun is at your feet'," North continued "what does that mean?"

Aster pursed his lips "Well," he said slowly "we need ta follow in the direction of the sun, and the sun rises in the East, and sets in the West. So one of those two ways I guess…"

"Or maybe…" Jack watched the Sandman as he frantically pointed at a stone statue of a Pooka with a diamond set into its forehead.

Looking down, Jack grinned when he noticed carvings into the stone under their feet, and quickly kicked the overgrown vines away. Flying up into the sky, he made a disc made of ice, and carefully directed the sunlight so that it hit the diamond on the statue. The light lit up the gem, and reflected onto the ground making the winter spirit squeal in delight. "LOOK!"

Aster's eyes lit up with understanding as he hurried to removed the vines and weeds growing over the stone floor, clearing them away so they could see the images carved into it. Beneath the flora and fauna of the mountaintop was an elegantly carved map of the kingdom that the Pooka's had inhabited in the past. North whistled in appreciation of the craftsmanship, while Jack and Toothiana oohed and ahhed over the beauty etched into every detail. Bunny pointed a triumphant finger at the spot where the light being reflected hit, and his face split into a wide grin.

"When the sun is at yer feet," he barked happily "this is the next place we need ta get ta."

North took out a piece of paper and charcoal as he quickly did a rubbing of the whole map and marked their destination "Let's go!"

With North in the lead, the Guardians set off in the direction of their next clue, which led them to a deep canyon looming far into the distance. Aster sat on his haunches, his face unsure as he puzzled through the next part of the clues. "Follow the way of the fleet," he murmured softly as he nibbled on his thumbnail.

All the Guardians felt stumped on this one, the last clue was difficult, but how do you follow the way of the fleet when you were sitting on the edge of a canyon? Jack heaved a sigh as he wiped sweat from his brow, trying to forget how hot he was, and looked out across the vast expanse of stone. Surely there was another clue, wasn't there? Just as they were about to give up, an ecstatic yell burst from beside them, causing Jack to fall off the rock he had been sitting on. Bunny shot up, his finger wildly pointing into the far distance.

"Look!" he cried "Over there, what does that stone look like?"

The other four Guardians looked in the direction of Bunny's pointing finger only to see a rock that had been carved by wind, rain, and time, only to be carved by the elements to look like the form of a bunny. "Follow in the way of the fleet," the former rabbit said bouncing excitedly "I'd say that that's a good place ta start!"

"No harm in checking it out," Jack shrugged.

"Yes," Tooth chirped happily "it's our best clue to solving this riddle!"

Tooth and Jack flew over to pick up Bunny while Sandman created a cloud of sand to tote Santa Clause, and as one they flew out over the canyon towards the large stone shaped like a rabbit. Aster shut his eyes and grit his teeth, making Tooth look down to give him a sharp glare.

"Don't grind your teeth Aster," she scolded "I don't want you ruining them!"

"Sorry Toothy," the rabbit said with a pained groan "but you try bein' carried by two lightweights hundreds of feet up in the air."

"Bunny," Jack snarled "I'm not a lightweight!"

Aster defied his fear long enough to twist his arm in Jack's grasp around so that he could feel the boy's muscle, only to let out a whisper of a chuckle "Oh yeah," he said sarcastically "ya really put some of those body builders ta shame…if they were brand new ta body buildin'…and scrawny…and ten years old."

"Dude," Jack growled "I could drop you, say one more word, and I drop you."

Bunny tilted his head up to meet Jack's eyes and shot him a look that clearly said '_I dare you_', and Jack gave a sly grin, loosening his hold on Bunny's arm and letting him feel just how much of the former rabbit's weight he had been holding. Aster let out an undignified shriek as he felt his arm slip through Jack's fingers, and Jack let out a long and loud guffaw as he tightened his hold once again.

"That…" the larger teen gasped "Tha' wasn't funny ya git!"

"Oh yes it was," Jack smirked proudly "and you will laugh about it…eventually."

"Yeah right," the former Pooka snarled "try never!"

"Boys," Tooth sighed "if you both don't stop bickering in 2.5 seconds, I personally ground you when all of this is over."

That shut the Guardians of Hope and Fun up as they continued flying in abject silence, neither wanted to tempt what horrors the fairy had up her sleeve in her idea of 'discipline'. Soon though they had reached the stone, and after landing, they stood in slack jawed wonder at the sight that met their eyes. Carved hieroglyphics of Pookas ran and danced along the sheer cliff wall, while a small group of Pookas ran off to the side in a line heading deeper into the canyon. Aster walked up to the carvings, his hand gently tracing their lines as he etched each detail into his memory.

"These," he said in a gruff voice made deep by emotion "are the elite Pooka. They were the fastest and strongest of our kind, the ones who guarded the king, and protected the secrets left behind by the ancients. My father was one, and I was one of the youngest ever ta join their ranks, they are the ones we need ta follow to the end of the riddle."

The Guardians gave solemn nods, none knowing the appropriate words to convey what they were feeling, and once again the group began their journey following the carved rabbits running along the cliff wall. Aster walked, his fingers running along the stone as a hundred forgotten memories assaulted his mind. Memories of his family, of his team, of the battles he took part in and the training he endured just so he could wear the weapons given to the elite Pooka who were intrepid enough to make it on the squad. All too soon they rounded a corner, and once again the group was struck dumb with wonder. Carved into the side of the mountain was a large temple entrance with pillars, and murals, and a grand entryway guarded by two stone rabbits standing twenty feet high. The statues each held a spear, crisscrossing them over the doorway, blocking anyone from entry.

Jack felt his jaw drop and his eyes bug out as he took in the sight "Whoa," he breathed.

"Uh huh," Aster agreed with a vague nod his eyes never leaving the temple.

North looked on the grand façade, his eyes wide with wonder before finally giving a stern nod "We have arrived," his Russian accent rumbled "let us go inside."

Slowly the group stepped forward, stepping onto the first steps leading up to the entrance when suddenly a dust storm kicked up, making all the Guardians, sans Sandy of course, duck their heads at the vicious winds whipping through them. When the gusts died down, they were shocked to see the translucent figure of an elderly Pooka standing before them. Wearing a red cloak, the ancient rabbit's white beard and mustache grew from his face and were almost to the ground.

"Warrior," he said in a quavering voice that had the whisper of the ages drifting through each syllable "you have come seeking salvation. The answers to your quest lay inside, but only by passing three tests may you truly prove yourself worthy to enter the sacred chamber sealed long ago by the ancient ones. This is not something you should take lightly, for these tests will measure your skill as a warrior, the strength of your heart, and the wisdom of your mind. Should you choose to undertake these tasks, understand that there is no going back once you begin, and you cannot receive any help but rather must solve each on your own. Good luck young one, and may the spirits guide you in your journey."

With that the figure disappeared, shimmering away into nothingness like a mirage. Aster stepped forward, lacing one foot on the stone step "My name is E. Aster Bunnymund," he shouted in a loud voice "and I have chosen to undertake the trials that lay inside the sacred temple."

The statues suddenly came to life, their arms curling to their sides as they removed the spears and allowed the stone door to creak open. Jack shot a breathless smile to Bunny, and soon the group was walking up the steps and into the main foyer of the temple. The room was large, looking much like a Grecian building with its pillars, and in the middle lay a large bronze basin filled with crystal clear water.

"Welcome," whispered a voice on one side of the room.

Jack jumped into Bunny's arms with a shriek as a tall Pooka covered by a white shroud with a flowing hood hiding its face from view "What is it with this place and ghosts!" the winter child wailed.

"Hush," Aster scolded with a fond smile "show a bit more respect for the ones who guard the temple."

Jack pouted and then stuck his tongue out at the former rabbit, stepping away and crossing his arms with a huff, Aster shook his head with a chuckle but turned back towards the ghostly rabbit as it once again began speaking.

"No one, save the tested, may venture beyond this point," the spirit whispered "those who travel with him must stay here."

"But," Tooth exclaimed "we can't just stay here and wait for him, I would go crazy from not knowing what's happening!"

"That is easily fixed," the ghost chuckled softly as it glided forward and touched the water in the bronze basin with one finger.

The water rippled and shifted, changing colors until it showed an image of them standing looking into the basin "With this," the ghost replied "you may watch the tested as he undertakes the trials, though you cannot help him and must allow him to pass the tests through his own power."

"Well," Jack pouted "I don't like it, but it's better than nothing I guess."

"Indeed," North rumbled "at least we can keep watch over Bunny, and not sit here worrying over how he is doing."

"A'right," Bunny finally sighed "then I guess it's time I get a move on then, eh?"

Tooth rushed forward, wrapping her arms around Bunny's neck "You can do it," she urged "you are more than capable of passing these tests."

"Yeah," Jack nodded enthusiastically "you may act like an old man most of the time, but you're pretty tough, so I think these 'trials' should be a piece of cake for you."

"Carrot cake," Aster laughed with a wink.

"Make us proud Aster," North said clapping a hand on Bunny's shoulder.

"I'll try mate." The former Pooka nodded.

Sandy flew forward, and gave two wild thumbs up making the former Pooka laugh "Thanks Sandy," he said softly "I'll do my best."

His heart beating wildly in his chest Aster took a deep breath and strode forward through the door on the other side of the room leading deeper into the temple. The former Pooka resisted a shudder as a sudden cold breeze cut through him. Stepping into the room, his eyes slowly became adjusted to the gloom and he gazed out onto a chamber covered in snow and frost, with various mirrors made of ice standing around in various parts of the room. Back in the foyer, Jack let out an unhappy huff.

"I won't help him with the test," he whined "but can I at least sit in the room that's actually cold?"

The ghost nodded its head with a barely audible laugh, and the room suddenly became chilled, but not so much as to make Tooth and North become uncomfortable, Jack however sighed in contentment as his eyes closed in rapture.

"That," he sighed wistfully "is perfect."

Turning back to the basin, they watched Bunny walk into the room, his eyes widening as he stepped in front of a mirror. In the image, Aster saw himself as a Pooka, wearing the traditional uniform of the elite. Looking down, he saw that he was still human, but his image in the mirror remained the same. Stepping to the side, he looked in another mirror, this one showing him standing in front of his family home holding a farm tool in one paw and a bag of seed hanging from his shoulder.

"What in the…" he muttered with confusion.

"You must choose one."

Aster whirled around with a startled yelp only to come face to face with the elderly Pooka he had met on the steps. One paw clutching his chest as he struggled to catch his breath, the former Pooka gasped out a small chuckle "Beg pardon?"

"One of these mirrors is a reflection of your soul, the image of your true self," the Pooka's ancient voice grated "you must choose the one you believe to be the reflection of what you truly are, and walk through it. Should you choose correctly, it will become the doorway to your next trial, but should you fail, you will walk into endless torment and death."

"Oh…" Aster squeaked as the elderly Pooka disappeared and he turned back to the mirrors.

Images bounced off the shiny surfaces, each one reflecting a piece of Aster's soul, him as a warrior, him working the farm at his ancestral home, another one of him painting next to a lake. Each close to who he was, but not truly his core. Finally he came to the last three mirrors, each striking in how starkly they mirrored his feelings. One was of him holding an Easter basket, a beautiful bow wrapped around the wicker handle, and colorful eggs lay nestled within the basket surrounded by soft green grass. Aster smiled and almost chose that image, but gasped at another image that popped into his peripheral.

Staggering back, the former rabbit bit back a choked sob at the image that confronted him. In the icy depths of the mirror lay an image of a battered and broken Pooka, his grey fur stained by ash, and his paws covered and dripping with the blood of his people. Emerald eyes, once bright with hope, were shattered with despair and downcast with grief. Tears trickled down the fur, leaving wet trails on the grimy cheeks. Aster clasped his hands under his arms, his chest heaving as he began to hyperventilate, his shoulders trembling with fear as he struggled not to look at his hands and inevitably see the blood that must still stain them. Stumbling past that mirror, the former Pooka ran to the next image, praying that this was better.

This one was, for it showed him not by himself, but with the Guardians. He lay on the floor curled up in front of the fireplace, Jack running a brush through his fur and snickering every time the brush made the rabbit's foot twitch. North sat in his favorite chair reading a newspaper, and Tooth was on the couch reading a magazine, while Sandy sat on top of the fireplace gently sprinkling dream sand over the sleeping rabbit. Aster fell to his knees, his chest heaving with sobs as he looked between the three mirrors, which one was he?

He felt that he was a murderer, for he had been able to do nothing to save his kind, and therefore he felt he was responsible for their demise, but he was also the Easter Bunny, and a Guardian. So which image was he to choose? Taking a breath, Aster staggered to his feet, and ran through the mirror that showed him with the Guardians, only to walk into a room that was shrouded in darkness.

"Hello Aster,"

Bunny whirled around, coming face to face with Sabine, his former love. "S-Sabine?" he choked.

"Yes Aster," she whispered gently "it's me."

"Wha-" he gasped "what are ya doin' here?"

"I'm here to help," she smiled "look what I brought you."

Holding out her snowy white paw, Aster looked upon a small egg that had been dyed purple "What's that?" he asked hesitantly.

"The answer to all your problems," Sabine whispered her lavender eyes on the egg in her paw.

"How?"

"Take this egg," she said softly "and break it. It will turn you back to your original form."

"But…wait," Aster shook his head as he stumbled a couple steps back "I only passed one test, I think, so unless you're my endless torment I can't go back ta bein' myself yet."

"Who cares about the trials," Sabine pouted "I'm offering you the easy way out, without having to go through all those silly tests. Wouldn't you rather go back to being you without all the fuss and have this all be over with?"

"Ye-es," Aster replied slowly "but…that's not the way yer supposed ta do things. The important and best things in life have ta be worked for, and earned through hard labor and effort. If I were ta take ya up on yer offer, I may be a Pooka again, but it won't be the same. I'll just be cheap imitation of what I could have been if I had gone through the trials."

"So you're not going to take me up on my offer?" Sabine asked lowly.

"No Sheila," the former rabbit said with a shake of his head "I can't, not when there is so much at stake. I need ta do things the right way."

Sabine gave a dazzling smile "Good answer," she said softly as she leaned forward and softly kissed him on the lips "you passed the second test."

Suddenly the ground underneath the Pooka opened up, causing him to fall down a hole and slide through a tunnel only to land in yet another room. This one was lit by a large circle of tall lamps with flickering flames dancing on top. Walking into the middle of the circle, Aster gasped when he saw himself walk out of the shadows and into the light.

"What?" the teen gasped.

"You've overcome the tests of wisdom, and strength of heart," his clone growled "but now you must face your most terrible enemy…yourself."

With a roar, the clone charged forward, boomerangs at ready. Aster ducked to the side, a pained cry exploding from his mouth as he felt his stitched tug and pull at the skin on his back. But he didn't have time to contemplate his past injury, because his clone had already turned around, and was charging him yet again. Aster staggered to his feet, but not fast enough as he felt a fist backed by the very muscles he was so proud of drive into his abdomen and send him flying across the room. Smacking into the opposite wall, Aster felt an agonized grunt whisper from between his lips as he slid down to the floor, and violently retched the contents of his stomach onto the stone.

"Pathetic," clone Bunny snarled "if ya were actually a warrior, then ya wouldn't let something as pitiful as being turned human stop ya from winning this fight."

"Yer stronger," Aster gasped "this form is weak, I don't have a chance!"

"Wrong!" clone Bunny spat "The basics of martial arts teaches the small and the weak how to defeat the strong and the mighty, yer current form is more than capable of winning if ya actually tried to get beyond the wall ya built in yer mind. The only thing keepin' ya from attaining victory is yer own mind because yer convinced yer gonna lose. If ya actually tried ta attain yer dreams and stopped moping around thinkin' yer a loser, then maybe yer life would actually change fer the better!"

Aster looked down at the ground, his eyes wide and unblinking as he felt like a century's worth of scales that had been blinding him from the truth had fallen from his eyes allowing him clarity for the first time in his life. "Yer right," he panted as he struggled back to a standing position "Yer absolutely right, and I'm goin' ta win this fight."

"Tha's the spirit," clone bunny smirked "now COME ON!"

With a roar, the two collided, each delivering blow after crushing blow until finally Aster ran up the side of one wall, and jumping off it to tackle his clone to the ground. Grabbing the sharpened boomerang, he held it to his clone's throat, breathing hard his face wreathed in a grin of victory. "I win."

"Aye, ya do mate," his clone smirked "now how about we get ya back ta yer handsome self?"

"I couldn't be happier."

With a blinding flash of light, Aster fell through the floor once again, this time only to land back in the foyer where the Guardians had been watching him. Jack rushed to his side, his hands waving excitedly as he stammered in urgency.

"B-Bunny, LOOK! LOOKLOOKLOOK!"

Aster glanced down, and was pleased to see fur, copious amounts of fur covering what was once skin, and the clothes that he was once wearing had somehow disappeared. Standing up, he checked himself over, ensuring that he was well and truly a Pooka again before looking back to the Guardians and spreading his paws wide. "I BA-ACK!" he sang.

"BUNNY!" was the unanimous cry as he was tackled to the floor by the Guardians.

"I'm so glad you're you again!" Tooth sobbed as she cuddled him, her delicate hands stroking his head.

"Yeah," Jack nodded ecstatically "but don't think that just because you're a kangaroo again means that you can go back to acting like a grumpy old man. I know your real age, and I intend on making sure you act like it!"

"A'right Snowflake, whatever ya want," Aster guffawed.

"Bunny!" North gave an exuberant shout as he bent down and lifted the rabbit in a tight hug "it is good to have you back to being yourself!"

"It's good ta be back," Aster smiled breathlessly "but seriously mate, let me go, I can't breathe!"

"AH! Sorry," North dropped the Pooka and clapped his hands "let us go back home and celebrate, yes?!"

"YEAH!"

….

Within a few hours the group was back at the workshop and all were taking part in welcoming Bunny back to being his old self, but the rabbit couldn't quite get into the spirit of things, there was still one small question nagging him. Where was Pitch in all this? Surely the Boogeyman wouldn't do something like this, only to let him turn back to a Pooka and ruin his plans, why didn't he try to stop them? Walking up the stairs, the rabbit didn't notice Jack's worried stare as he watched his friend make his solemn trek up the stairway towards their special thinking spot on the roof. Following him, the winter spirit landed on the roof, his cerulean gaze taking the worried form of his older adopted brother.

"Bunny?"

The Pooka turned around to see Jack standing behind him, his hands gripping his staff tightly "Yeah Snowflake?"

"Uh…" the child bit his lip uncomfortably "you ok?"

"Yes…and no," Bunny shrugged.

"What's wrong?"

"Pitch," Aster replied simply "I mean, he just let us win, and didn't even try ta stop me getting' back ta bein' myself, I just can't help but wonder why."

"That's easy."

The silky smooth British accent caught them both off guard and they whirled around to come face to face with the Boogeyman "Pitch," Jack snarled.

"In the flesh," the man bowed with a dark snicker "and in answer to your question, the reason why I turned you human was for comepletely different reasons than I gave you cause to believe."

"Whattaya mean, Pitch?" Aster growled deep in his throat.

"I mean," the Boogeyman laughed "that I let you become a bunny again merely because that was part of my plan. You see, up until now, all you lot have seen of me was shadows and projections, and I wanted to get out of those caves and back in the flesh again. The problem though was getting enough fear to strengthen me and thereby free me from my cage, if I had fed off the fears of children then I would have been stuck for a century at least, and so I needed something a little more potent than the fear of a child, I needed the fear…of a Guardian."

"You turned me into a human, and had me forgettin' who I was, all because ya wanted me scared?!" the Pooka cried incredulously.

"Exactly," Pitch nodded "and I have to say it worked, because the amount of fear you were pumping out, I was free from my bonds even sooner than I had originally anticipated."

"That's," Jack sighed in disgust "is just low."

"Please," the dark man scoffed "you should be happy, at least I wasn't trying to take over the world. I was merely using my talents to free myself from bondage. It could have been much worse."

"True," Aster acknowledged "but that doesn't excuse ya from the beat down ya deserve fer makin' me go through that torture!"

With a snarl, Bunny sprinted forward attempting to tackle Pitch, but only succeeding in almost sliding off the roof. Jack gave a startled yelp and darted forward to catch the Pooka before he fell over the edge while Pitch laughed from his spot that he had stepped to while avoiding the Guardian's attack.

"It's been fun Guardians," the Boogeyman spat "but I need to go. Places to go, people to scare, the usual. Ta-ta!"

Shadow leapt up and swallowed him, leaving the two Guardians sitting on the roof by themselves. "Jack" Bunny sighed.

"Yeah Kangaroo?" Jack replied.

"I need a vacation…"

"Agreed."


	55. Sophie's Sick Day

**MyHeartsDesire, this is your request, I hope you enjoy it!**

"Sophie, I'm sorry sweetie, but you need to stay home."

Sophie sighed, she was looking forward to her first day of kindergarten, and she didn't want to stay home "But why?" she pouted.

"Because you have a fever," her mother replied softly with a comforting smile "but don't worry because Mommy is going to be here taking care of you and we'll have lots of fun."

"Ok," Sophie muttered as she made her way back up to her bedroom.

Bunny stood outside, waiting to wave Sophie off on her first day of 'big girl school' as she called it, but was surprised to see only Jaime walking out of the house with his backpack. "Oi, ankle biter," he called with a wave of his paw "where's Sophie?"

"Oh hey Bunny," Jaime smiled brightly "Sophie has a small fever, and Mom is making her stay home from school."

Aster's ears twitched in concern "Is she ok?"

"Oh yeah," Jaime waved dismissively "she isn't feeling terrible, or puking or anything, she just has a fever and a sore throat with a runny nose, that's all."

"Oh yeah," Aster scoffed "like that's nothin'."

Jaime laughed at the gruff warrior's concern "Look, if you're worried about her, then maybe you should go check on her."

With a parting wave and another laugh, Jaime took off down the street towards his school, leaving Bunny standing on the sidewalk to ponder the boy's words. Maybe he should check on Sophie, it wouldn't hurt to make sure she was ok, and surely his visit would make her feel better than she did now. With a firm nod, the Easter Bunny strode into the house quietly, and then snuck up to Sophie's room, smiling at the sight that met his eyes. Sophie sat on her bed, an angry pout decorating her face, her arms wrapped around her knees as she glared out the window at all the kids walking to school.

"Hey there ankle biter," the rabbit said softly causing the girl to give a small startled jump.

"BUNNY!" she squealed as she bounced off the bed and ran into his arms "You came to visit!"

"Yep," he chuckled fondly as he picked her up and snuggled her gently "that I did, heard ya were sick, so I came ta make sure my favorite believer was ok."

"I'm ok," she sighed in despair "but Mommy says I have a fever and I have to stay home."

"That's too bad," Bunny nodded in understanding "I know ya were lookin' forward ta goin' ta yer first day o' school."

"Yeah," the little girl said with a sniffle "I wanted to go so badly! But now I'm sick, and have to be in bed all day."

"Well then," the Pooka said with a sly smile as he deposited the child back on her bed and knelt on the floor next to her "how's about I stay here and play with ya so ya don't miss goin' ta yer school?"

"Really?!" Sophie's jaw fell as her eyes became wide with happiness before jumping up and down on her bed and tackling the rabbit in a hug "YAY!"

"A'right, a'right," Bunny chuckled warmly "calm down ankle biter before yer mom come up here wonderin' what all the screamin' is about."

"Ok," she giggled as she clapped her hands over her mouth.

"So what do ya wanna do first?" the rabbit asked.

"…Um…" Sophie turned around looking out at her room as she pondered Aster's question "let's play house!"

"Uh," Bunny froze "house?"

"Yeah!" the girl smiled sweetly "You're the daddy, and I'm the mommy, and we take care of our babies."

Rushing to her toy box, the six year old dragged out baby dolls, and handed them over to Bunny. The Pooka stared at them as if they were toxic, this was not what he had been thinking when he said he would stay with her, he had been thinking that she would take a nap and he would relax letting her rest, nowhere in that plan included baby dolls! Soon the warrior was rocking, feeding, burping, and changing diapers of their 'babies' and he was anxiously waiting for the perfect moment to escape. But that moment would not come for a long time. Over two hours later, Bunny was delicately putting the baby doll away and was edging towards the window.

"Ah, Soph?" he chuckled nervously "I need ta go, ya know, stuff ta do and all that."

"But," Sophie's bottom lip quivered as she cast forlorn eyes up at her friend "you promised to stay all day."

Tears filled the young girls eyes and Bunny felt his heart melt as he struggled to say no, but it was all for naught and once again the Pooka was at the mercy of a six year old girl with a fairy fetish. "Let's play tea party!"

"Oh manny,"

…

Jack flew along the rooftops of Burgess, surfing on his staff as he sailed along with the wind, his face wreathed in a large grin as he whooped in joy from the freedom of flight. It was the hour for Jaime's PE class, which was time enough for him to catch Jaime before the kid went to his next class, and so turning himself into a missile, the sprite fell through the air waiting until the last second to pull up and flip onto a street light much like a gymnast. Walking along the long piece of metal, the boy scanned the schoolyard for his first and favorite believer, his blue eyes squinting with concentration until he spotted the familiar shock of brown hair. With a happy laugh, Jack flew into the air, and walked amongst the sixth and seventh graders, only to tap on Jaime's shoulder.

Jaime flew around, his brown eyes lighting up with joy before he quickly sobered. Looking around, Jaime slunk around the corner of the building giving a small gesture to Jack to follow him. Jack rolled his eyes, as he followed Jaime around the corner, and leaned against the brick wall. "Ya know bud," he chuckled "most of your friends can see me by now."

"Yeah," Jaime shrugged "but the high school kids can't, and if they see me talking to myself, then I'll get thrown in the trash can for sure. I only just got to a decent level of communication with them, and I can't chance losing what level of popularity I've managed to build up."

"Oh I'm sorry," Jack guffawed "I forgot how important being popular was to you."

"Come on, you can't say you don't know what it's like trying to survive junior high and the bullies, you told me about how you used to be human!" Jaime groaned.

"Actually, I can," Jack said with a nervous chuckle "we couldn't really afford school, and even if we could Burgess wasn't big enough yet to actually have a full time teacher here to teach us how to read and write. I mean, I learned math from my dad, at least enough to avoid being swindled when we went to sell our stock and the hides we had tanned into leather at market. I never had the chance to go to school."

Jaime's mouth fell open "You…" he said slowly "you can't read?"

Jack hunched his shoulders against the incredulous look that he was receiving from his friend, his blue eyes downcast as he pouted at the grass covered in early morning dew "…No…"

Jaime bit his bottom lip, worried about how his words may have hurt Jack, and struggled to change the subject before things became even more awkward "So uh…" Jaime laughed nervously "did ya hear that Sophie was sick?"

"Huh, Soph is sick?" Jack snapped out of his ashamed daze long enough to glance up at his friend.

"Yeah" the human boy sighed with relief "Mom had to stay home with her, but last I saw Bunny was going in to check on her. If I were you, I'd go rescue him."

"Rescue Bunny?" Jack asked cocking his head "Why?"

"Because," Jaime said in a low spooky voice "once Sophie gets her claws into you, there's no escape!"

"You're just being dramatic," Jack said rolling his eyes.

"No!" Jaime burst out grabbing Jack's arm and giving it a shake "I'm being serious! You need to go rescue Bunny from my little sister, he could get mind wiped and be girly for the rest of eternity!"

Jack's eyebrow twitched from the visual he got on a girly Bunny, and then gave a salute and took off flying, his face firmly set towards Jaime's home.

…..

Aster gave a grieved sigh as he sat at the tiny table surrounded by baby dolls, and a tea on the table top before him. He was wearing Sophie's mother's makeup in copious amounts, thanks to Sophie being the "beautician". He had gotten a genuine Sophie's special makeover complete with blond wig, blue hat, a scarf, a necklace, clip on earrings, lip stick and bright blue eye shadow. The little girl had even gone through the trouble of painting his nails red. She too was dressed to the nines wearing one of her many princess dresses, her own face decked out with makeup and various plastic jewelry. Picking up the pink plastic tea pot with a peeling sticker of a princess on it, Sophie turned to the Easter bunny, a sweet smile on her lips.

"Would you like some more tea Miss Bunny?"

Aster's ears drooped even further as he realized that he had no chance of escape and a low whine sounded from his throat "Yes please," he muttered unhappily.

"Would you like sugar or cream," she asked as she poured his 'tea'.

"Sugar," the rabbit replied.

"Would you like a cookie?" Sophie handed him a plate of cookies that she had stashed in her room from the last time she had a tea party.

Aster gave another sigh, and winced at the sight of his red nails before picking up a cookie "Thank you."

Sipping delicately from her cup, Sophie let out a dramatic gasp, one small hand flying to her mouth "Oh no," she said "we're out of tea! I'll go get more."

Grabbing the tea pot, Sophie took off out of her room screaming to her mom about how she needed more tea for her tea party with the Easter Bunny. Aster sat at the table, contemplating whether he should escape now and risk breaking her heart, or just staying and finishing their tea party. He never expected Jack Frost to arrive.

Jack landed on the window sill, his toes balancing on the narrow piece of wood as easily as a bird's "Bunny, you her-?"

The winter spirit's jaw dropped at the sight of the Easter Bunny in all his dress up glory, and immediately let out a shriek "NO!" he screamed "OH GOD NO! It's happened! You've been GIRLIFIED!"

"Shut up Frostbite," Bunny said as he immediately made a snap decision and began tearing off his costume and scrubbed off the makeup "it's not like I wanted ta look like this, and its past time that I leave, so get out of my way so I can make a quick escape!"

Jack pursed his lips as he was suddenly assaulted by snorts and giggles "Why, ya look good as a blond."

Aster stomped forward, planted his large paw on Jack's face, and pushed the winter child off the window sill outside onto the ground. Jack fell, the wind slowing his descent, landing on the grass, his legs kicking as he laughed in long and loud guffaws. But the winter child quickly righted himself, flying back up to the window, his face split by a wide grin.

"Ya know," he teased as he watched Bunny search for his bag and weaponry "Jamie warned me that Sophie was secretly diabolical when it came to holding people prisoner."

"Too bad he didn't warn me," the rabbit growled "he all but threw me under the bus. Don't get me wrong Jackie, I love the kid, but even I have my limits, and makeup is where I draw the line."

"Well that blue eye shadow is really fetching," Jack snickered as he began to shake with laughter again "Let me guess, you tried to say no, and she turned her patented big puppy dog eyes on you, and every thought fled from your mind leaving you helpless?"

"Sounds like ya speak from experience," Aster mumbled as he scrubbed his face with a napkin.

"I have never fallen to her spell," Jack chuckled "because Jaime usually saves me before it's too late."

"Well," the rabbit whispered in an urgent tone "unless ya want yer track record to be shot ta pieces, I suggest ya help make like a bread truck and haul buns outta here."

"Right," the sprite nodded "let's get you out-"

"Jack Frost!"

Jack winced as both he and the rabbit turned to see the little girl standing in the doorway "Oh," the spirit chuckled nervously "hiya Soph, how ya doing?"

"You came just in time," she chirped "we're having a tea party."

"…Oh…"

_*One Hour Later*_

"Love yer wig mate," Aster snickered.

Jack glared at him before slouching into an unhappy pout "Shut up kangaroo, you're the one who let her get a hold of you again."

Aster grunted and turned back to their hostess. Both young men had been done up in Sophie's special salon. Bunny had been adequately scolded for ruining all of her hard work, and returned back to his former glory. Jack however had been dressed up in one of her mother's dresses, had high heels on, was wearing jewelry, and a hat. A hot pink wig adorned his head, and deep red lipstick accented by purple eye shadow decorated his face. Now they all three plus about ten or so stuffed animals were enjoying tea, and there was no escape in sight. Jack looked up to the wall, a sorrowful sigh blowing past his lips as he realized he had at least three more hours before Jaime came home and rescued them from Sophie.

"So what time does Jaime get back," Aster whispered conspiratorially reading Jack's mind.

"Not for at least another three hours," the sprite whispered back.

"I hate the fact that we have ta rely on a thirteen year old boy to rescue us from a six year old little girl."Aster sighed.

"Yeah," Jack grimaced "you know, she has to refill the tea pot sooner or later, I say the minute she does we bolt."

"Good idea," Bunny nodded enthusiastically.

"Hey Bunny," Jack said.

"What Frostbite?"

"Don't tell anyone about this, ok?"

"I wouldn't dream of it."

Sophie bounced up grabbing the tea pot "We're out of tea, who wants more?"

"WE DO!"

**Well that was cute…not quite what I planned, but cute nonetheless!**

**READ and REVIEW!**


	56. Visions part 1

**I know I've been building up a lot of hype for Visions…and I hope it will be as good as I want it to be. So here we go, everyone read, enjoy, and REVIEW!**

**No…I do NOT own ROTG!**

It was late at night in the warren and Bunny was curled up in his nest, a soft smile playing across his lips as his foot twitched from the sweet dream currently playing in his head. He was dreaming about soft green grass, multicolored flowers, and a gentle breeze blowing through the trees. In his dreamscape, the Pooka was running through the grass, his ears flying behind him as he raced through the flowers, multicolored petals falling around him like snowfall as he ran. Suddenly a sound echoed over the meadow, a sound that the Pooka knew didn't belong there, and it was the sound of someone crying. Aster sat up, his nose quivering as he cast his gaze around the meadow, searching for the source of the noise.

Emerald eyes flew open, and Bunny sat up, one paw scrubbing his face as he regained consciousness, what was he dreaming about? He couldn't quite remember, but he had a feeling that he was forgetting something important. Rolling out of his nest, the rabbit began a slow weary trek to the kitchen to grab a quick glass of water before attempting sleep again, but his quest was interrupted by the sound that had awoken him, the sound of someone whimpering and moaning in pitiful sobs. His ears turning towards the noise, Bunny felt his heart clench when he deduced it was coming from Jack's room, and he quickly made his way there, his glass of water completely forgotten from the worry over Jack's wellbeing overtaking his mind.

Entering the room, Aster looked on the tortured form of Jack as he thrashed from a nightmare assaulting his subconscious. Rushing to his side, Bunny felt his forehead searching for some kind of fever, but was relieved to find none, and then finished his perusal looking for any evidence of nightmare sand. Once again, his search came up negative, and the rabbit began to gently shake Jack in the attempts of waking him up but he never would have expected what happened next. Blue eyes flew open, but they weren't their usual hue, just like he had done when Bunny had been turned human they were a silvery blue and his voice began to speak in a tone far older than he actually was.

"_When the moon weeps,_

_Bells will toll as a shooting star falls never to rise again_

_The bond will break and darkness will fall"_

Bunny reared back, his mind reeling with what that could possibly mean. The last time Jack did this, he had predicted the fact that Bunny only had four days to become a Pooka again before being trapped as a human forever, and he had known it without ever talking to Pitch. Aster didn't know what it was exactly, but the rabbit had a sinking feeling that it was a lot deeper than he already knew, and he wasn't sure what he should do about it.

"Jack," he whispered giving the winter spirit a more forceful shake "come on Jackie wake up mate."

Silver softened back to blue and Jack gave a small groan "Bunny?" he said softly in a voice roughened by sleep "What's going on, what are you doing here?"

"Ya were havin' a nightmare kid," Bunny replied as he leaned back to sit on the bed and allow Jack to sit up from where he lay "a doozy o' a one by the sound o' it, and then ya said somethin' weird about a shootin' star fallin' and a bond breakin'."

"…Oh…" Jack replied softly suddenly becoming very interested in the bed sheet beneath him.

"Don't 'oh' me mate," Bunny grumped "I didn't say anythin' before about it 'cuz I thought I was goin' bonkers, but now I know that there is somethin' yer keepin' from me. So spill, why do ya wake up from dreams and start spoutin' rhyming nonsense that usually has the frightenin' ability ta tell the future?"

Jack felt his heart skip a beat as his breath caught in his chest "Y-you," he stammered "you know about that?"

"Yep," the rabbit nodded "ya did it when I was turned human by Pitch and ya predicted the fact that I only had four days ta get back ta my original self or be stuck as a human. Now are ya goin' ta tell me what's going on, or am I gonna have ta get North involved?"

The sprite sighed as he drew his knees up to his chest and bit his lip, silently contemplating whether or not he was going to tell Bunny the truth "Alright," he finally whispered "I'll tell you, but you can't tell anyone, and you can't interrupt, ok?"

"Deal," Bunny nodded as he got himself comfortable and waited for Jack to begin his story.

"When I was human," the spirit began softly as he stared at his feet "I would get these…dreams…visions that would tell the future. At first my mother didn't think anything of them and just told me to keep them to myself so that we wouldn't get accused of witchcraft. So I did, but the thing is, I quickly learned that these visions have certain…rules."

"What kind of rules?" Bunny asked gently.

"The prophecy when spoken must come to pass in some way," Jack shrugged "I can't control what's said, but I can only somehow change the future if it's really bad by still ensuring that the prophecy still comes to pass in some way but without the bad part happening. It's weird, and often I only get little warnings, and if it's just a vague little warning then it's ok and I can do what I want…but if it's really specific, then we have problems."

"How do ya mean?" Aster asked cocking his head "Are ya sayin' that somethin' bad happens if ya try ta change the specific ones?"

"…Yeah…" the answer was a miserable whimper "the more specific the prophecy, the less chance I have of changing the future, and there are…consequences."

"What kind of 'consequences'?"

"Well," Jack took a deep breath "once there was this time where I had a vision that someone was going to die in an accident, and I told my mom. When it actually happened, my mother became scared, like really scared, and told me I was never allowed to tell anyone else about my visions, not even her. So they became my private secret, but I began to think, what if I could change the future? So the next time I had a vision about a death, I found a way to change it, and saved the man's life. He was an elder in our village, but what I didn't know that where there is death, there will always be death. Because that man did not die, fate turned elsewhere to get what it was due, and since there was no one else the same age and 'value' as the elder fate instead retrieved the lives of two men in our village. When I did the math later, I realized that their ages equaled to the same age as the elder whose life I had saved."

"So…"Aster thought carefully "you're sayin' that if ya save someone's life, then however many years they lived, and how much value their life is worth will result in someone else's death?"

"Yeah," Jack sighed "I saved the life of a prize dairy cow to save a friend's farm, and someone else's best cow died. Saved the life of a little girl by keeping her from eating poisonous mushrooms, and in return someone else's little girl died. The longer you live and the more valuable you are to the people around you, the more lives it takes to repay the debt owed to fate and death."

Bunny shuddered "Tha's horrible."

"You're telling me," Jack moaned "after a while my mom could barely look at me, and when my dad died, I felt like I had lost the last person in my family who wasn't afraid of me."

"So," the Pooka said softly "have ya always had these visions?"

"…No…" Jack whispered "they only just started after I got my memories back."

"Ok," Bunny nodded.

Opening his mouth the Pooka tried to question Jack about the latest prophecy, but the boy looked so miserable he couldn't bring himself to do it. So with a sigh, Bunny gently pushed Jack back down onto his bed and tucked the child in. Snuffling his temple comfortingly, the rabbit ruffled the white head "Good night Jackie,"

"G'night Bunny," Jack whispered back watching as the rabbit walked out of the room.

Turning over Jack closed his eyes, trying to forget the image of a sleigh in flames, falling to the ground and smashing to pieces.

**Short, I know, but you guys know me, the first chapter of my arcs are always short while the last is always long. Such is my writing style.**

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	57. Hunted

**Anyone else notice that there are practically NO Hurt!Bunny stories? We fangirls are too busy beating on Jack we forgot that Bunnymund needs some…*cough*…love.**

**So here is a Hurt!Bunny chapter…which I'm sure you guys are already seeing…He is my favorite character…Heeheehee!**

Orion sat in his constellation, his glittering gaze never leaving the endless expanse of space, and heaved a sigh. Stretching out on the chair made of diamond harvested from one of the stars inhabiting his territory, the hunter gave a small groan of frustration, and cast an unhappy pout to his kingdom. Thick curly black hair sat atop the face that would even make a supermodel fall into a pit of depression, and under pensive eyebrows were cobalt eyes that missed very little. A lithe muscular form lamented its disuse on the glittering throne, and a bow leaned against the arm of the elegant chair, yearning for its master's hand. Even the kingdom's inhabitants were tiptoeing around the castle, their voices reduced to tremulous whispers. For all could feel the unhappiness radiating from their ruler

Orion…the great hunter of legend…was bored.

He had run out of things to hunt, run out of challenges to test himself against, and that made the constellation extremely unhappy. For centuries he lounged on his throne, wishing for something interesting to happen, but all had learned their lesson, and none dared try to invade the territory of stars controlled by Orion. Now he was enjoying his hard won piece of territory that he ruled over with a strong arm, and a mind of wisdom. Well, enjoying was probably not the way he would describe his current lachrymose. He was, for lack of a better word, depressed and despondent, wishing for all the world that he could somehow break out of the rut of routine redundancy that had taken over his existence…and quite frankly the hunter was teetering on the edge of doing something incredibly rash and stupid to appease said hunger gnawing away at his insides.

Pursing perfect lips, the hunter rose from his glittering throne and stomped down the steps leading up to the resting place of his diadem, approaching a nearby pool with catlike grace. Looking down into the crystal waters, his rumbling baritone growled "Show me my prey."

Decades ago, on a whim, Orion had taken a glance down at the Earth wondering whether any worthwhile warriors had somehow cropped up or if any mythical monsters had survived from ancient times that needed to be slain. What he found however was somehow both, and yet neither, it was this creature that he gazed upon now. A giant rabbit, also called a Pooka, raced through forest and undergrowth in long lithe strides on all fours. His muscles rippling visibly beneath his glossy striped coat, and armed with ancient weapons originating from an island continent, this beast was what kept Orion awake at night tossing and turning visualizing his hunting of such an animal. He had been debating his rationalization of finding it and taking its life, at first justifying that it wasn't up to par with the mythical beasts he once combated against, but time had changed that judgment.

This rabbit was immortal, as he had watched him for over five decades and never seen any sign of age, and it had the skill of a master warrior which Orion had seen evidence of in a recent battle against a dark spirit known as Pitch. In fact, it was that battle that caused Orion to give pause and reconsider his stance on not hunting said quarry. True enough, that young boy showed to be the driving force behind their victory, but Orion had seen the rabbit show more skill in battle than anyone else did, and it made his fingers itch for his quiver and bow. Oh yes, Orion hungered for a chance to do battle with the beast, and now that it had shown itself a worthy opponent, the hunter decided that now would be the perfect time to test his arrow against its boomerang.

…

Bunny ran deep into the underbrush of his favorite meadow within the mountainous terrain of Europe. He loved coming to this area, with its treacherous cliffs, unpredictable weather, and lush plant life. It was an ideal area to collect plants for the dyes that he planned on creating come next spring, but it was also fun to sprint through, and getting the adrenaline rush of barely surviving pitfalls and jumping over fallen logs. The day was perfect, and the air warm. He had a day off from Guardian duties and Jack was spending time at Jaime's meaning that Bunny probably wasn't going to be on call to rescue him out of some new problem. So with an abandon that Bunny rarely got to enjoy, he bounded through the mountain range, finally allowing himself to go all out and stretch his muscles that he usually kept in check by going full speed.

"Hey Kangaroo!"

Bunny felt a pout as he recognized the voice, and the nickname, which meant that it was none other than Jack Frost here to torment him. Looking up into the sky as he ran, the rabbit yelled back "What do ya want Frostbite? Isn't it a tad warm for ya here?"

"Nah," Jack shrugged "you're in Europe, and this high up in the mountains, it rarely gets much warmer than this which means I can handle it as long as I don't go any lower."

"Ya still haven't answered my first question," Bunny retorted as he skidded to a stop and sat down on his haunches panting from exertion "why aren't ya at Jaime's place?"

Jack sighed as he floated down and slid onto a tree branch laying on his back with a dejected sigh "Apparently his dad just decided to pop in and have a day with him before he goes off on another overseas business trip, I told Jaime it was no big deal, but I was looking forward to spending the day with him."

Bunny felt guilt at the previous frustration he had felt over Jack bugging him, and realized that the kid was merely seeking out company so he could distract himself from Jaime being forced to ditch him to spend time with his dad "A'right ankle biter," the rabbit smiled "how about ya just hang out with ol' Bunny today and help me with collectin' the flowers I have trouble getting' ta, how's that sound?"

Jack gave the rabbit a grateful smile before giving a small cough and acting nonchalant "Not my idea of fun, but I guess it'll do."

"Good," Aster nodded as he hit all fours again "because there is one particular flower I've been tryin' ta reach all day and Sandy ain't here ta help a mate out."

"Ok," the winter child hopped down out of the tree "just point me in the right direction."

Flying up into the air, Jack waited for Bunny to get a head start before flying after him, a joyous smile on his face as they took off through the mountains. Not far away on a cliff edge stood Orion, his face serious as he notched an arrow to his bow, and pulled back the string, his eye narrowed as he took careful aim. Taking a breath, the man loosed his arrow on the exhale, and smiled in satisfaction as it flew through the air and hit one of the Pooka's legs with a loud thump. An animalistic shriek rocked through the air as Bunny skidded sideways, knocked off course by the force of the arrow, his face tight with pain as he clutched his now bleeding leg. Instincts screaming for him to hide, he scrambled to the side into a clump of bushes, his leg dragging uselessly behind him.

"BUNNY!" Jack shouted as he ducked into hiding alongside the rabbit.

"Shh!" Bunny scolded with a pained whimper as he began to inspect his leg.

"What happened?!" Jack whispered harshly as his blue eyes bounced around, searching for the enemy who had attacked the rabbit.

"I-I don't…know," Aster gasped as he twisted around to look at the shaft of wood sticking out of his upper thigh.

Jack grimaced at the bloody mess "Uh Bunny," he said in a small voice "that doesn't look good."

"No, no it doesn't" Bunny breathed in and out, attempting to calm his raging nerves "but it went all the way through, which means it'll be easier ta take out."

With pained gasps, and labored breathing, the rabbit situated himself so that he could bend over and snap the head of the arrow off. A sharp grunt sounded from the base of his throat as he clenched his teeth against the pain, and then proceeded to rip the arrow out from his flesh. Jack winced at the sound, and gave a small shudder at the seemingly calm way Aster was attending to his own injury.

"Uh…" the boy said quietly "What do we do?"

Taking medical gauze from his pouch, the rabbit began to wrap his leg, one end of the bandage firmly clenched between his teeth as he tied it off in a tight knot "Not sure mate," he said between his mouthful "all's we know is that there is someone who is shootin' at us."

"Yeah," Jack sighed with concern "he's not too worried about whether or not he kills us either."

"Nah," the warrior shook his head "that was a warning shot, whoever this drongo is, he's like a cat that plays with its food before it moves in fer the kill. He's probably on some ledge laughin' his head off, waitin' fer me ta move so he can continue messin' with my head."

"Why does he want to do that?" Jack asked tremulously.

"Thrill o' the hunt," Aster replied solemnly "he wants ta drive me mad with fear, and mess with my head ta the point that I lose all reason and regress ta pure animal state, then he'll chase me up until he herds his prey to the ideal spot where he plans ta finish the job. But I ain't no ordinary animal, and I intend ta turn his little 'master plan' on its ear."

Jack watched his friend in wonder, not for the first time knocked completely speechless by the amount of strength Aster had. Here he was in the face of certain danger, but even now, the rabbit was cool and dignified, calmly assessing his situation, and calling it like it was. He looked every bit like a legendary warrior in that moment that Jack felt a surge of pride that such a person chose to be his friend and adopted brother.

"Ya know," Jack whispered with a lopsided grin his cerulean gaze twinkling with mischief "even though we're being hunted by a crazed psycho, you are so cool right now."

Bunny glanced sharply at the winter spirit in surprise, his jaw falling open slightly at the blunt compliment "Uh, thanks Frostbite…you're a real trooper hanging in here like this and not runnin' off like some terrified drongo."

Jack's grin widened at the praise before falling into a serious expression again "Ok," he said softly "so what do you want me to do?"

Bunny chewed his lip pensively as he pondered Jack's question. To be perfectly honest, it would be easier for him to escape, and even eventually take out his attacker without having the worry of an extra person to protect. But beyond that, Jack could fly at extremely high speeds, meaning the sprite could also go for help while he kept the archer busy. Either way, Jack would be out of danger, and away from the battle zone. Giving a firm nod, Bunny turned back to the winter spirit, his green eyes glowing from the sunlight being reflected in them through the branches of the brush.

"A'right," he whispered "I need ya ta crawl on yer belly at least four yards ta our left, there should be a cliff edge there. Drop down off the cliff until yer sure no one saw ya or followed ya, and then I want ya ta book it ta North's place and tell him the situation."

"But that could take hours!" Jack burst before clapping a hand to his mouth and smiling apologetically for being so loud.

"I know, Bunny nodded patiently as he slowly glanced over the bushes to ensure no one was pulling a sneak attack "but it's our only shot, I can keep psycho here busy until ya get back."

"But what about your leg?" the boy persisted.

"It's fine!" Aster assured as he gave Jack a gentle push in the direction he needed to start crawling in "I've dealt with worse than this, now go, if ya head out now the evening winds blowing across the mountaintops should give ya en extra push for speed."

Jack pouted unhappily, before giving a resigned sigh and a nod "Fine"

"Good," Bunny smiled relieved that Jack agreed to get out of the way of danger "now get outta here, off ya pop."

Jack nodded hesitantly, but was soon shuffling through the underbrush on his stomach making his way towards the cliff edge, and hopefully the Guardians. Bunny approached the edge of the bush, flexing the toes of his injured leg with a small wince before darting forward. He was injured, and he was a tad slower than normal, but Bunny was a warrior, and he wasn't about to let a leg injury from a two bit archer keep him from showing this psycho just what kind of mess he decided to step in. Running back and forth in a zig zag formation, the rabbit darted in the direction that the arrow had come from, his teeth clenched as he felt the hot flow of blood trickle down his leg.

The sound of a string snapping alerted the rabbit to duck to his right, narrowly avoiding another arrow as it buried itself into the trunk of a tree. Looking up, Aster gave a wry grin as he finally spotted the ledge where the mysterious archer was standing. Standing up, he prepared to tap the ground and create a tunnel, but that motion was vetoed by yet another arrow hitting the ground mere inches from his feet, sending Aster into a back flip and then charging the archer's hideout as soon as his feet touched the grass; running up the side of the cliff, his nimble paws somehow grasping the impossible footholds, until he leapt high into the air over his attacker, his mouth agape with a roar of primal anger.

"Let's finish this!"

Tackling the stranger, the two bounced and skidded as they tumbled backwards away from the cliff edge. Orion felt a maniacal grin stretch his beautiful features into a macabre reflection of the former dignified constellation. Lifting his legs, he kicked both feet into Aster's stomach, flipping him over his head, and then scrambled to his feet while his fingers grabbed a hunting knife and began flipping it casually in intricate patterns.

"I knew," Orion panted as his eyes took on a mad gleam that screamed for bloodshed and the two began to circle each other "I knew that you would give me a satisfying hunt."

"Who are ya?" Aster gasped as he limped "Ya aren't human, that's fer sure."

"I'm Orion the Hunter," The man smirked proudly.

"The constellation?" Bunny asked mouth agape with shock.

"Indeed," the man laughed as he flipped the knife into the air and caught it with his other hand "I was a human here on Earth before any of you ever got here, but I was made a spirit after my unfortunate demise and cast into outer the darkness of the skies."

"So what," Aster growled "is this revenge or somethin' fer takin' yer place?"

"Oh no," Orion shook his head "I'm not so petty as that, you lot can live on Earth as its Guardian spirits."

"Then why, why are ya tryin' ta kill me?" the rabbit spat.

"Because," Orion chuckled softly as he turned bloodthirsty eyes back on his quarry "I haven't had a challenge, a true hunt, in centuries. I have been watching you Aster, for almost one hundred years I have been watching and studying you, and I have come to the conclusion that you have what all my other prey has lacked and that only through you can I achieve the ultimate hunt!"

"Yer crazy," the rabbit snarled.

"Maybe," the man shrugged with a cackle "but my sanity notwithstanding, it is highly unlikely that you are leaving here alive."

Without another word, the man darted forward, his knife gleaming in the sunlight, and charged the Pooka. Aster hopped backwards, blocking the first thrust in midair by slamming his boomerang down onto Orion's wrist, eliciting a roar of pain and frustration from the man. The knife clattered to the ground, and Aster touched down long enough to hop back into the air and do a round house kick with one powerful leg across Orion's face, sending the man tumbling across grass and rock. Landing back on the ground, Aster fell to all fours, his sides heaving as he panted.

Orion stumbled to his feet, another even larger knife already in hand as he stalked towards Aster "Oh yes," he laughed manically "put up a fight, don't give in, and fight me to the glorious death!"

"Shut up rat bag!" Aster spat as he charged again.

Dodging dangerous razor sharp swipes, Aster weaved back and forth, his body fluid as he fought for his survival. Flipping his boomerang, he ducked beneath Orion's arm as he lunged forward with the blade, and knocked the man off his feet by sweeping the ground with one leg, only to rear back and finished the move by grabbing the front of the constellation's shirt and slamming him on the hard rock. Flipping him over to lay on his back the rabbit sat on top of the hunter, and proceeded to beat him with a series of punches to the face. However he failed to see gleaming metal shoot up and bury itself into his side past fur and deep into muscle and tissue. Bunny grunted as his eyes went wide with shock, and a scream of pain echoed as Orion ripped the large knife out of the rabbit's body taking fur and bits of tissue with it.

Aster clutched his side, his eyesight going in and out of focus as he struggled to draw breath, and his body gave a violent shudder from the amount of pain knocking his mind askew. Orion scrambled out from under the Pooka, standing up to gaze on his prey, his mouth stretched in a terrible grin as his knife dripped rubies onto the grass staining the ground red. Aster lay on the ground, his teeth clenched, and a harsh cough wracked his frame spitting a glob of blood onto the ground. The hunter walked forward, drawing his leg back, and violently kicked the fallen Pooka, sending him hurtling across the grass until his flight was interrupted by the trunk of a tree. Another pained cry drifted towards the man, making him give a sadistic smile, and he once again approached his prey.

Aster watched the man approach through unfocused eyes, his back burned from the abuse of hitting the tree so hard, and his side was spitting out copious amounts of blood making him start to feel lightheaded and dizzy "…You…" he said with a pained gasp "You kill me…and you have ta…ta deal with the…rest of the…Guardians not to mention…MiM."

"Please," Orion shrugged "if MiM actually cared about you living or dying, wouldn't he have intervened by now?"

Another cough accompanied by blood caused the rabbit to give a harsh wince of pain as he struggled to crawl away from the hunter "Ya don't…know what yer talking about."

"Sure I do," Orion sneered "I was a warrior like you, and I fought countless terrifying things only to be murdered and then banished into space as a constellation to live out eternity in boredom."

"Oh poor baby," Aster chuckled sardonically as he slowly stood to his feet, his chest heaving with labored breathing "ya were made ruler over an entire constellation of star kingdoms as a thank ya fer yer bravery, but you decide ta think of yer blessin' as a prison sentence."

"I AM imprisoned!" Orion snarled.

"Please," Aster rolled his eyes "this hardly justifies taking the life of a fellow spirit, if anything, yer reasonin' makes ya sound like a spoiled little brat not a warrior."

"Shut up."

"I mean," the rabbit chuckled "a true warrior would have set up a duel, or at least sent a letter of challenge, but you…You treat this more like a bored spoiled prince who is using his toy bow and arrows to try and kill a couple squirrels in the garden."

"Shut UP!"

"So don't you even say that we're on equal footing on warriors," Bunny continued pinning the man with a venomous glare "because warriors have honor, that is one thing ya definitely lack."

"SHUT UP!" Orion roared as he charged Bunny knocking him off his feet with a powerful punch.

Aster once again flew across the ground, knocking into a large boulder, and skidding to a stop until he barely came to a stop right at the cliff edge, with one of his arms and legs falling over the edge and dangling in the air. Green eyes fluttered open weakly, as a small cough rocked his frame, spraying blood across the stone. Bunny knew he was on his last legs, he was too weak, and the injuries sustained in this fight were taking a toll. He needed to end this, and quickly. Orion stomped over, grabbing Bunny by the scruff of his neck, the hunter lifted him high.

"You're going to look great as a rug in my bedroom," Orion smiled wickedly.

"Oh yeah," Aster chuckled painfully "nothing shouts masculinity like a rabbit pelt lying on your bedroom floor."

"Why you," Orion snarled as he swung Bunny and slammed him onto the stone ground.

Placing a booted foot on Aster's windpipe, Orion smirked at the weak gasping and pitiful thrashing of the animal beneath him, then reached over his shoulder to grasp his bow and then notch an arrow "Say good night," he whispered menacingly.

But the arrow did not fly as Orion gave a yelp of pained shock as he looked down and realized his bow string, arrow, and his arm up to the elbow were completely incased in ice. As he puzzled over this, a blur of blue and white flew into him, flipping in the air so that it could slam bare feet into the man's face. Orion flew backwards, and hit a tree, glancing up just in time to see a small boy standing in a defensive position in front of the fallen Pooka.

"Leave. Him. ALONE!" the child snarled as he clutched a staff and held it out in front of him.

"Out of my way, boy," Orion spat "this doesn't concern you!"

"Yes it does," Jack growled back "you're messing with my brother, and you can bet that I won't stand by and let you kill him!"

"Brother," Orion asked as he reeled back in shock and a short incredulous laugh burst from his lips "oh yeah, I can definitely see the family resemblance."

"You're about to," Jack smiled evilly "Aster taught me martial arts about three years ago, and we still spar, even though I'm not nearly as good as he is, I'm still good enough to take out the trash."

"Jackie," a weak voice called from the ground causing Jack to whirl around.

Aster stood up on shaky legs, his face a grimace of pain "I can finish this," he gasped.

"But…you're bleeding…" the boy argued.

Aster looked down at the child who was supposed to be busy gathering the Guardians but had instead disobeyed his orders and stuck around to watch over Aster, the same child who barely even an hour ago had been admiring him for his strength as a warrior. The rabbit had to finish this fight himself, both because of his honor, but also because he felt a strange surge of pride at the way Jack looked at him like a little brother staring at their older sibling. He wanted to show Jack that his admiration was not misplaced, and he wanted to prove to Jack and himself that he was every bit the master fighter that the winter child thought he was. Placing a paw on the boy's thin shoulder, Aster sighed.

"Jackie," he said softly "I _need_ ta finish this. How can I face myself tomorrow if I were ta lay down and let ya finish my fight? I'm a warrior, and regardless of the outcome, I need ta act like one and finish the battle."

Jack deflated, remembering all those times Bunny had told him about honor and integrity as a warrior, and finally relented "Fine, but I don't like it."

"Ya don't have ta," Bunny chuckled "but do me a favor, eh brain freeze? Ice over my leg and my side ta stop the bleedin'."

"It won't last very long," Jack warned as he used his staff to frost over the injuries "five minutes at the very most."

Aster grinned wickedly as he cracked his knuckles "Tha's all I need."

Stalking back towards Orion, Bunny cracked his neck and rolled his shoulders "A'right trash bag, let's end this once and fer all."

Orion smiled and readied his bloody knife "Gladly."

The two charged forward with a roar, and Jack cheered and screamed as he watched Bunny punch, kick, and bite his way towards victory. Finally after what felt like hours the two stood panting, Bunny wincing as he felt the ice crack and blood begin to slowly seep through. One last time, Orion darted forward, and leapt high in the air, his knife glinting in the setting sun and bloodlust shining in his eyes. Aster reached up just in time to grab the man by the throat, and slam him down to the ground, disarming him and holding the knife against his exposed neck. Orion gasped and thrashed, but Bunny silenced him to stillness by pressing the blade against the skin and drawing a small bead of blood.

"Ya lose, trash bag," the bunny whispered "now get back ta yer palace where pampered brats like you belong."

With an infuriated scream, Orion turned into a shower of sparks and disappeared into the evening sky. Aster stood slowly, and threw the knife over the cliff edge in disgust before falling back to the ground with a pained groan. Jack rushed to his side, his blue eyes wide with both worry and impressed awe.

"That was awesome!" he breathed "But if you think I'm carrying you to North's you're nuts."

"No worries Jackie," Aster let out a breathy chuckle "I just need…a little…nap."

A small shudder shook his frame before the emerald eyes rolled to the back of his head and he fell unconscious. Jack shook his head fondly at the rabbit before casting a worried glance at the amount of blood pooling underneath his adopted brother's thigh and side.

"Yer a real drongo, ya know that mate," Jack said in his best imitation of Bunny before slinging the unconscious rabbit over a thin shoulder.

Well, he attempted to, but the dead weight caused him to totter and then collapse on the ground with a startled yelp. Scrambling up out from under the rabbit, Jack created a boat made of ice, and then placed the rabbit inside of it. Making ice ropes, and connecting them to the makeshift carrier, Jack grunted and strained as he struggled to lift the heavy load up into the air. The closest person would be North as they were in the upper reaches of Europe, and Jack could only hope that he could hold out that long. After hours of flight, and constant breaks to ice and re-ice Bunny's injuries so to keep him from dying of blood loss, Jack finally made it to Santoff Clausen. The yetis bustled Bunny off, and soon Jack was recovering from the hard flight there.

…

Bunny slowly woke, his brain fuzzy from meds, and his side throbbing slightly. Sitting up, the rabbit gave a sharp grunt of pain as his side and thigh flared from the movement, and settled back down into his bed. Scrubbing his eyes with both paws, the rabbit looked around, and slowly realized through the medication induced fog that he was in the infirmary at the North Pole. How he had gotten there he had no idea, but he was grateful to whoever had brought him here. Suddenly Bunny felt a shifting in the covers, and he looked down to see Jack sitting on a chair, with his head and arms resting on the mattress. The boy murmured in his sleep, and then let out a sigh, burrowing his head deeper into his arms. Bunny smiled at the way the child was guarding him, and reached over to pull him up onto the bed alongside him.

Aster gritted his teeth as his side protested against the effort it took to drag the child up and over, but somehow managed to get Jack onto the mattress without popping his stitches. Jack responded immediately, and snuggled into Bunny's shoulder, murmuring something about silly rabbits trying to prove their tough. Aster chuckled at the sleepy talk, and snuffled the boy's temple. Jack stilled at the touch, then sighed and fell ever deeper into oblivion. Smiling at his baby brother, Aster settled down into his covers, and cuddled the boy against his chest. Soon the only sound heard in the room was the breathy snores of a child, and the deep breaths of his older brother as they slept covered in moonlight.

**Yeah, this idea has been knocking on my brain for over a month now, and I just had to get it out in the open. **

**Hope the ending was fluffy enough for you, and I hope ya'll enjoyed the fight scenes. I'm still learning when it comes to writing fight scenes, and am far from writing them well, but I hoped this chapter shows at least a little improvement.**

**REVIEW!**


	58. Toddler Bunny

**Ok, so someone said something about a Toddler Bunny and I admit…I liked the idea!**

**Ok…So here is Toddler Bunny…**

**No I do not own ROTG**

"NOOOOORRRRTH!" Tooth shrieked as she buzzed down the hallway her features drawn with concern and worry "NORTH! Get your butt out here NOW!"

The large man in question burst from his office, eyes wide with fear as he searched for the source of the voice screaming for his attention "What?! What is it Toothy?!"

"We forgot!" She yelped as she began to rap her head with anxious unhappy fists "We completely, and utterly, FORGOT!"

"What did we forget?" North spluttered trying desperately to ignore the growing unease bubbling in his stomach.

"The One Hundred Year Spring Solstice!" Tooth shrieked her shoulders heaving as she panted.

North's jaw fell in shock as her cry echoed among the rafter and faded away "That…" he stammered "that is THIS year?!"

"Yes!" The fairy wailed as she sunk to the floor "and in the past three years since Pitch we all forgot!"

"I thought…no…but I thought," North paced the room wagging one finger as he fought to comprehend what was happening before pointing to a calendar written in Russian that had red pins stuck on it "That is supposed to be next year!"

"No, no it isn't," Tooth sighed "we all forgot to include the year that Pitch attacked."

North's face became deathly pale as he calculated and it dawned on him that the Easter that Pitch attacked, he had forgotten to put a pin on the calendar "Oh no," he murmured "This…could be bad."

"You think?!"

….

"Hey Frostbite," Bunny shouted as he stood up and strode away from one of his dye pools "give me about four more bags of the purple glitter dye, I want ta make sure this paint is perfect before I start on my googies."

"Right!" Jack called as he flew into through the Warren and into one of Bunny's many storage caves, swooping down he grabbed onto a heavy ten pound bag of glittery powder in each hand and flew back to Bunny "These things weigh a ton!"

"Yeah, I know," Aster smiled apologetically as he watched Jack pour the bag's contents into the pool "Wait just a sec," the rabbit shouted as he put on a pair of goggles and zoomed in on an egg he held in his paw, dipping a paintbrush into the pool Aster pursed his lips as he gave a delicate brushstroke across the shell and analyzed the consistency of the paint.

"Actually kid," Bunny grinned as he gave Jack a thumbs up "the purple pool is good! Now we only have the blue, the pink, and a few of the pastel pools ta finish and we'll be done!"

Jack collapsed on the ground next to his dog, who merely gave a bored huff where he lay, and threw his head back in exhaustion "Can we take a break, kangaroo?" he panted "I'm tired and my arms feel like cooked noodles!"

Aster chuckled "Sure mate, let's take a breather."

Bunny stood up, stretching his paws high over his head as he popped his back and gave a fatigued sigh. Jack smothered a laugh, quickly looking away and whistling innocently when Bunny turned to look at him, one eyebrow raised in curiosity.

"Wha's so funny, frostbite?"

"Nothing," Jack deadpanned.

"Ya laughed," the rabbit pushed.

"No," Jack fought against the giggles currently overwhelming him "I didn't."

"Ya are now," Bunny growled as he crossed his arms and playfully glowered at the winter child "so spill already."

"It's just that," Jack exchanged a look of amusement with Rex before turning back to the rabbit "I just can't take you seriously in those goggles…they look like coke bottle glasses and make your eyes look huge!"

"Hey!" Aster squawked indignantly "These are genuine tools of the trade, and are very handy when tryin' ta get just the right consistency for paint."

"Whatever you say Kangaroo," Jack snickered as Rex gave a bark in agreement.

"Oh that's it ya drongo," the rabbit snarled his eyes twinkling with mischief "I think it's time you and I have a little chat about manners in another person's hom-Ohhhh…"

Suddenly the rabbit swayed on his feet, one paw coming up to grip the side of his head as the other clutched his stomach. His breath came in sharp gasps, and the rabbit's features scrunched in a tight grimace of pain. Soon his body was trembling with violent shivers, and the Pooka sunk to the ground with a moan, doubling over to place his head on the grass. Jack straightened up from where he was sitting, and Rex stood up a small whine resonating from his throat, both worried for their friend.

Aster groaned, his eyes going in and out of focus, and his stomach began to convulse as he fought the gag crawling up his throat "Somethin's wrong," Aster panted "this wasn't supposed ta happen till next-AAAAGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!"

Jack bolted to his feet and raced across the grass over to the writhing frame of his friend "Bunny?" he cried out as he reached out towards the Easter spirit "Come on Bunny, this isn't funny!"

"I…" Aster gasped as he rolled onto his side and curled up with a pained whimper "I'm not laughin'."

"What's going on?!" the sprite wailed.

Suddenly Bunny stilled, his chest still heaving from labored breaths and his eyes narrow with the agony afflicting his senses, but yet somehow inexplicably calm "Don't worry Frostbite, everythin' is gonna be ok, just promise me…promise…that you'll take care of the Warren while I'm gone."

"Wait…WHAT?!" Jack shrieked "Don't talk like you're gonna die Kangaroo, I still have an entire novel's worth of pranks to pull on you….and that's just for this year!"

Bunny winced as a harsh laugh whispered through his lips "I'm not gonna die ya dag…well not really…let's just say I'm going to be out of town in a sense."

"Ok," Jack groaned as he felt for a fever on the rabbit's forehead "now I'm REALLY confused."

"Look," Bunny said with a pained cough "I'm tellin' ya that everythin' will be ok, but I need ya ta do me a solid and keep getting' the Warren ready fer Easter. I wrote down everythin' ya need this mornin', just follow the instructions and everythin' will be fine."

"Where are you going, especially now, when you can't even move?!" Jack snarled.

"I'm goin'…goin…" Aster's head swayed as a tsunami wave of dizziness slapped him hard across the face "…back…"

Without another word, or clue, the rabbit slumped to the ground unconscious leaving Jack in a frantic dither over what to do for his friend. "BUNNY!"

Jack crawled back and forth, his blue eyes wide with terror, before Bunny body was inexplicably enveloped in bright specks of light. Jack screamed as he began to bat at the specks, trying to keep them away from the fallen form of the Pooka, but his efforts were thwarted as the specks quickly increased in number and swarmed Bunny's body covering it until not even the smallest patch remained. Jack scrabbled at the fur, Rex joining him as both attempted to get the golden specks off his coat, a hoarse cry issuing from his throat as he scrubbed furiously. Unfortunately for the winter child, the light only became brighter until it actually began to shrink, and soon dissipated leaving behind the small form of a toddler Pooka of about five or six years old.

Jack's jaw dropped, and Rex gave a confused whine cocking his head, while both crept forward to gently poke the sleeping toddler "B-Bunny?!" Jack gasped.

Emerald green eyes fluttered open, and the small child gave a yawn "Who are you?" he asked in a childish voice that sounded nothing like Bunny's while he rubbed his eyes.

"Ohhh boy," Jack sighed as he shared a wince with Rex "I think we have a problem."

"Where am I?" the toddler asked in a tremulous voice his features becoming dark with fear.

"You're in the warren," the winter spirit said slowly "your home."

"My home?" Bunny asked hesitantly as he looked around with wonder "I live here? Really?"

"Yep," Jack nodded still feeling an unexplainable urge to smack himself hard across the face "this is your home, and I'm a…friend."

"You're my friend?!" The little bunny sat up, his face brightening with a smile "I'm Aster"

"I'm…uh…Jack…" the winter sprite stammered "and this is Rex."

Aster's eyes went wide and a shrill scream left his lips "DOG!"

…

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOORRRRTH!"

North fell forward, slamming his head into the desk with a groan "Here we go," he sighed.

Jack ran into the office, his face terrified and full of anxiety "We have a problem!"

"I know," North sighed.

"It's about Bunny!" Jack continued his arms waving around dramatically.

"…I know…"

"We were talking and all of a sudden he collapsed, and was in pain, and then a bunch of sparks covered him!" the sprite explained.

"I know"

"And then…" Jack stopped as he reached forward and grabbed North by the shoulders "Bunny turned into a TODDLER! He's a KID North! A KID!"

"I know!" North exclaimed.

"You…know?" Jack paused his brows knit together in confusion.

"Yes," North nodded "this is actually normal for Bunny."

The winter spirit's jaw dropped as he wildly pointed a finger at the toddler now walking through the door "How is _this _NORMAL?!"

North chuckled as he walked over to the door and stooped down to scoop up the young child, tickling him under his chin resulting in a high pitched squeal of delight accompanied by giggles "This," the large man said as the small rabbit snuggled him "is the One Hundred Year Spring Solstice."

"Ok," Jack said with a huff as he flopped down into a nearby chair and crossed his arms "I'm listening, I'm not convinced I'm not going crazy, but I'm listening."

"Every year there is the Spring Solstice," North began to explain "it is the rebirth of spring, but every one hundred years Bunny is also…reborn."

"Wait…" Jack sat up and scooted to the edge of his seat "So you're saying that this happens every one hundred years?"

"Yes," the large man nodded as he stroked the rabbit in his arms.

"So when does he turn back?" The sprite asked.

"He becomes his old self at Easter." North replied "this year the spring solstice is March 20th, and Bunny will be like this until the eve of Easter."

"He'll be like this until EASTER?!" Jack burst out.

"Indeed," Santa chuckled "so while I inform Tooth and Sandy of Bunny's regression, why don't you take first shift watching over him?"

With one swift motion the large man had deposited Bunny in Jack's arms, and the kit immediately began playing with the ties on the front of his hoodie, his soft voice cooing as he babbled to himself. Jack looked down at his fluffy armful, a sigh heaving from his chest as he considered his current problem.

"Looks like we're stuck with each other," the boy mumbled "so I may as well get used to you being a little kid."

"I'm not a little kid," the toddler pouted "I'm a big boy!"

"Oh, ok," Jack chuckled at the endearing image of the Pooka currently in his arms "I'll make sure to remember that."

"Hey," Aster tugged on the winter spirit's shirt "wanna play cops and robbers?"

"Hmm," Jack hummed with a pensive look on his face "I don't know, I mean, big boys don't really play games like cops and robbers."

"Yes they do," Aster squealed "only babies can't play cops and robbers."

"And you're not a baby," the sprite smirked.

"No," Bunny pouted as he folded his arms "I'm a kid."

"But…" Jack drawled as his face lit up with mischief "you just said you _weren't_ a little kid."

Aster pulled in a breath, prepared to launch into an explanation when he paused realizing his blunder "Yeah," he said slowly "I'm a kid….but I'm not little…I'm just a kid."

"Ohhh," Jack chuckled "that makes sense."

"Yes, it does," the child nodded before squirming out of Jack's arms and disappearing out of the room with a giggle "now let's go play!"

"I'm in for it now," the sprite sighed before following the hyperactive rabbit out into the hallway.

**Ok, I know I'm supposed to be working on a whole bunch of other stuff (Pitch's Passion, Visions, etc.) and I haven't forgotten about them, in fact I wasn't going to post this until much later, but I hate keeping you guys waiting for new updates, so I decided to spring this little plot bunny a little early so that you guys can have something to read.**

**REVIEW!**


	59. Pitch's Passion 5

**Alright, everyone is in love with Pitch's Passion, so here we go with the next one!**

Tooth sat on the edge of her seat as the music started, her eyes growing wide as Arabian type music began to play, and the voice of a young girl began to echo through the theatre.

"I was born in India," she said "it was hot there, and dry."

Mary Lennox soon walked out onstage as her life began to play before them showing her spoiled pampered raising far from the influence of her parents who cared little for her very existence. Thunderous noise shook the theatre as the reenactment of her parent's death due to a large scale earthquake took place. Jack sat, his mouth agape, his eyes wide as he listened intently to the story. Bunny was in equal wonder in his own seat, a bucket of popcorn on his lap. Pitch was even enjoying himself thus far, true it wasn't like Les Miserables or even Phantom of the Opera, but it was still a surprisingly dark beginning compared to what he had expected to be a children's play about gardens and fuzzy animals.

"I have to admit," Jack whispered as he leaned towards Bunny "this is turning out better than I thought."

"Told ya," the rabbit smirked.

"Shh," Tooth scolded "I'm trying to listen."

"All of you shut up," the boogeyman sighed "if I'm going to be forced to watch a play about a garden I want to at least understand the plot without you lot yammering in the background."

"Says the guy who said more than all of us put together" Jack muttered with mischievous glint in his eye.

Pitch felt a pout decorate his face, but rather than rising to Jack's bait, he merely sighed and reached over to flick the winter child on the back of his head. Jack gave a muffled yelp, and turned playful angry eyes to the dark specter who merely whistled innocently. Rolling his eyes, Jack shook his head with a small smile before sitting back in his chair and turning his attention back to the play at hand.

The story continued with Mary being taken in by her Uncle who was determined to stay as far away from his home Mistlethwait Manor, and even avoided his newly orphaned niece. Mary was a surly girl, with a morbid attitude and sallow features, and was determined to drive away any kindness given to her. Tooth felt tears well up in her eyes as she watched the girl left to herself, rejected by the very people who took her in, and her thoughts drifted back to her own parents who had been killed in their effort to protect her from those who had wished her dead. She remembered how she, much like Mary, had fallen into a time of bitterness and defeat, unable to truly find happiness in her life after her parents had been taken from her. But Mary Lennox was not like Toothiana, for she had never had the loving relationship with her parents that the fairy had had, and it only made Tooth feel even more empathy for her. She sighed in relief when Mary finally discovered the secret garden, and learned that it was the place where her aunt had died, and her uncle had closed the place up never to open it again. She had also had a secret place of refuge to find healing and strength, and Tooth was happy beyond words at the girl's discovery.

"Tooth," Jack whispered his eyes wide with concern "you ok?"

"Huh?" the fairy whipped her head around to look at the winter sprite suddenly snapped from her thoughts "Oh, yeah, don't worry about me Sweet Tooth, I'm fine."

Jack pouted, unconvinced, but his attention was drawn away by Mary Lennox's sudden discovery of her bedridden cousin. The plot began to unfold as they watched Mary bond with her cousin, and learned that he had not been allowed to leave that bed in the dark room since he was born. Jack hugged himself, feeling claustrophobic at the idea of living in a room, confined to a bed, never seeing sunlight or going outside. The very idea made him shudder in both disgust and horror, the fear sending a tantalizing aroma to Pitch, making him turn to Jack with one eyebrow raised in curiosity.

"Something wrong?" he rumbled softly.

"Just…" Jack paused as he searched for the right words "I can't even understand the idea of being trapped like that, of everyone telling you that you're gonna die and forcing you to stay in a dark room with no sunlight, and no other people to keep you company. No wonder the boy cries all the time, he must be so lonely."

Pitch paused, ever since he had escaped from his prison in the caves by forcing Aster into a supreme state of fear, he had always thought that he would gain revenge on the Guardians. But looking onto the stage, Pitch could draw parallels between himself and the bedridden child, both he and the boy had been forced into an existence that they had never wanted in the first place, both were constantly being told by others how worthless and pointless their life was due to the unchangeable factors presented in their lifestyle, and both were trapped in never ending darkness. And yet…here he was, watching a play in a Chicago theatre alongside those selfsame Guardians whom he had sworn revenge on. Pitch shook his head at the irony, but his thoughts were interrupted once again by the small boy sitting next to him.

"I'm sorry."

Pitch felt his jaw drop in utter shock as he spun to face the sprite only to violently flinch at the kicked puppy look he was giving him "…What..?"

"I said I'm sorry," Jack muttered with a look of dejected misery on his face "I'm sorry for the fact that we forced you into that existence, and that we hated you despite the fact that the only reason you had done all the things you did was because you were lonely."

The boogeyman's lip curled as his mouth opened and closed as he struggled to find words to express his shock and…disgust? No, not disgust, but there was some unnamable emotion burning in his gut that he couldn't quite understand; shaking his head violently, the dark specter reared back into his chair with enough force to rock it, and folded his arms unhappily. Whatever this emotion was, he didn't like it, but regardless of the battle taking place between his mind and heart Pitch knew that Jack was waiting for a reply and he needed to give one if he didn't want to wound the boy. Whoa…where did _that_ come from? Surely he didn't care if Jack's feeling were hurt and the boy was emotionally scarred from this point on…right? Oh who cares, he needed to say something, and he needed to stop rambling to himself and spit it out!

"Don't pity me," Pitch finally snarled, more at himself than at Jack "you seem to have forgotten that I'm the one who decimated Bunny's kinsmen, and I'm the one who has caused more heartache and pain for the world than anyone else due to my own selfishness. A creature like me does not deserve, nor need, your pity."

Jack pondered Pitch's words as Mary's cousin, Collin, began to throw a temper tantrum, screaming and crying as Mary left him after they had had a fight "I think," he said "that selfishness is just cry for someone to see you and make you feel loved… I mean," the boy turned sincere blue eyes on the boogeyman nearly shocking him out of his seat "that's the main reason I caused problems for Bunny's Easter Egg hunts, because I wanted him to acknowledge my existence and make me feel less alone. It doesn't make it ok, or right, but I think that's the reason for it."

Pitch's shoulders deflated and the man gave an aggravated sigh "Just watch the stupid play Jack."

The winter sprite shrugged, but his mind was still working on how to try and make Pitch see that being the sworn enemy of the Guardians wasn't his only option. Mary soon became friends with a young boy, the younger brother of one of the servant girls, and Dickon became her partner in helping her cultivate the long abandoned Garden preparing it for spring. Bunny grinned, and elbowed Jack gently.

"Tha's my favorite part o' spring," he whispered "watchin' the flowers bloom and the things ya thought were dead from the cold just wake up and start showin' off their colors. Flowers take a lot o' work, but manny it's worth it once spring comes."

Jack gave a small grin and nodded at the rabbit, but his eyes were riveted on the stage as Mary finally got to meet her reclusive uncle for the first time. The girl crept forward, her eyes fearful as she took in the intimidating presence of her uncle who was being eaten alive by his bitterness and grief.

"You…look so much like her," the man groaned in seeming pain at seeing the daughter of his wife's twin sister "like a ghost sent to haunt me."

"I'm sorry," Mary quavered "I don't mean to cause trouble to anyone."

"Trouble?" the man gasped from where he cowered in the corner "what trouble could you cause?"

Mary glanced down at the floor in discomfort before giving a heavy swallow and met the man's gaze with determined eyes "May I…May I please…ask something of you?"

"Of course," the man waved from his corner of the room "anything at all."

"May I…have a bit of earth?"

Lord Kraven looked at her in confused shock "A bit of…what?"

Mary felt her resolve drop but gathered it back up again "A bit of Earth," she reiterated in a desperate yet hopeful tone "a place of my own to plant things in and make them grow? If it isn't wanted, may I have it?"

"Just like her," the man moaned in a haunted tone before snapping his tortured gaze back to the young girl "take any bit of land you desire."

"Any place?" Mary asked happily.

"Yes!" the man cried as he flinched as if the girls mere existence pained him "now leave me, and tell Ms. Medlock that I will be leaving on the hour!"

Jack grinned in triumph as the girl sped out of the room, her face alight with a happy glow at the thought that she had gained the master's permission to call the secret garden abandoned by the household, once owned by her dead Aunt, as her very own.

The orchestra burst out in song as the houselights came up signifying the intermission, and Tooth gave a stretch sighing in satisfaction as she felt her back pop "This is turning out pretty good!"

"Yeah," Jack grinned "I like how Mary got to have Lord Kraven's permission to have the garden, even though I feel bad for Collin. I hope that they can get him to the garden."

Bunny winked "I'm not tellin', but I will say you'll be happy with the end."

"A happy ending," Pitch sneered "how droll."

"Hey," Jack barked as he turned teasing eyes to the boogeyman "we watched two shows that have pretty depressing endings to them with you, so why don't ya just suck it up and enjoy the show?"

Pitch raised two hands in mock surrender "Fine," he sighed forlornly "It's not like I have any choice since I'm obviously outnumbered by the Lollipop Guild."

Aster covered up his snicker with cough and turned towards the stairway "I'm gonna see about getting a snack."

"A snack?!" Jack laughed "You just ate an entire bucket of popcorn, and you want a _snack_?!"

"Oi," the rabbit grumped giving the kid a playful cuff "I had the salty, now I need the sweet, ya can't have one without the other."

"Touché," Jack shrugged "but if you're getting chocolate, I'm coming with."

Both boy and rabbit took off for the stairs but were followed by a very irate fairy "Oh no you don't E. Aster Bunnymund," she practically shrieked "I am not letting you ruin my Sweet Tooth's beautiful, pure white teeth!"

Pitch rolled his eyes with a sigh "What on Earth have I gotten myself into?"

…..

Back at Santoff Clausen, North sat in his office, experiencing something that he detested with every fiber of his being…lack of inspiration.

Santa Clause was of course one of the most imaginative being in existence, what with the way he cranked out endless amounts of toys for the masses, but every once in a while he would get in a creative slump and no matter what he did, he could not design or even think of a new kind of toy for the upcoming year. It was a horrible sensation, one that North usually washed down with a plate of cookies and a glass of milk, but this particular slump was especially persistent and was immune to the usual mode of cure. Heaving a sigh, the large man considered his options, his head laying dejectedly on his desk.

He could visit one of the Guardians, but Tooth and Sandy were too busy, and since it was getting close to Jack's hibernation cycle the winter spirit was probably already snoozing in his room and won't wake until mid September, which only left Bunny. North perked up, maybe a trip to the Warren was just what he needed. To be honest, before Pitch attacked and Jack joined the team, he had never visited the den of the Easter Bunny, but now that he had North had to admit that it was every bit as impressive as his workshop. Maybe a change of scenery would do him good. With a nod of determination the man made his way to the warren, arriving only to pause in confusion at the silence reigning through the many tunnels and plazas of the Pooka's home.

"Bunny," North called "Bunny, you here? I have come for visit!"

Nothing, the only sound being North's voice bouncing off the stone walls and echoing back at him. Santa scratched his head in pouty confusion "Where is that Pooka?" he wondered aloud.

Deciding to just go into Aster's living quarters, North continued his search checking every room in the den, but still came up empty. With a sigh, the large man sat on the plush couch in the living room, his eyes distant as he pondered just where the rabbit could be when suddenly he noticed that Bunny's computer was still on. Satnding up, North walked over to it, only to cock an eyebrow is amused interest at the sight still occupying the screen. It was an advertisement for a theatre in Chicago featuring a play called The Secret Garden. North chuckled softly to himself.

"So that's where he went," he murmured softly "looks like I have a show to catch."

**DUNDUNDUUUUUN! Looks like it's North's turn to catch them. I tell ya, them Guardians are a curious bunch, and once Bunny got let in on the secret, it all snowballed from there!**

**As usual you guys, READ and REVIEW!**


	60. Epikaos3

**So here is the next installment of Epikaos! ENJOY!**

**FYI the song I'm having Tooth sing is the song Welcome to the Show by the artist Britt Nicole, so if any of ya'll wanna check it out, that is the song that is being used in this chapter.**

The crowd roared as Tooth took her place behind the microphone, a mischievous grin and a wink directed towards her fans before she counted down to the guys behind her and they struck the opening chords on their guitars with Jack pounding the beat away on his drum set.

_Now's the time, get in line, don't be afraid tonight  
We're gonna take you high, before you realize  
'Round and 'round you'll go, up and down, never slow  
Feel the excitement grow, oh  
This is where you let go_

_Hands high like a roller coaster  
This love is taking over  
Take us higher here we go  
Oh, oh, oh  
Welcome to the show  
Gravity we're defying  
'Cause we were made for flying  
We're about to lose control  
Welcome to the show_

Jack bobbed his head in time with the music, his hands flying as he created an intricate beat in between the chorus and the second verse. Tooth danced around the microphone stand, occasionally leaning in to sing into the microphone, all the while her intense lavender eyes never leaving the crowd.

_Oh, oh, we're on a mission nothing, nothing, can stand in our way  
Oh, oh, we don't need permission  
We're gonna rise up and we'll be the change  
Oh, oh, hear us on your stereo  
Oh, oh, we're about to lose control  
Oh, oh, everybody knows  
Oh, oh, this is where you let go_

Aster danced in place, his body swaying as he played the intro back into the chorus from the verse, and his eyes closed as he gave himself completely to the music. Sandy stood behind the mixer, his eyes dancing as he took the music being pumped through the speakers and gave it a modern twist that made the people listening tap their toes and bounce up and down in time to the beat. Soon the entire crowd was dancing, laughing, and shouting as they sang along with their favorite band.

_And put your hands u-u-up  
We're gonna have some f-u-u-n  
We've only just beg-u-u-n  
And it's too late to r-u-un, you can't run  
So put 'em u-u-up  
We're gonna have some f-u-u-n  
Turn u the bass let it b-u-u-mp  
We've only just begun, and you can't run_

Hands high like a roller coaster  
This love is taking over  
Take us higher here we go  
Oh, oh, oh  
Welcome to the show  
Gravity we're defying  
'Cause we were made for flying  
We're about to lose control  
Welcome to the show

The song ended with a resounding crash on the drums and Aster and North doing a harmonized guitar solo leaving their fans screaming in delight. Tooth bounced on the balls of her feet before dancing back up to the Microphone and screaming "THANK YOU CALIFORNIA!"

The crowd cheered in response and soon the concert announcer was trotting up behind them, flashing a grin and a thumb's up as he prepared to present the next group. Pitch stood on the sidelines, his face an amused smirk as he sneered at Epikaos, the rest of his fearlings standing behind him as they prepared to run on stage. Tooth rolled her eyes at his obvious disdain written on the man's face, before turning back to the screaming crowd. Waving her hands with a bounce, she grinned at their fans then ran offstage with the guys. Jack was all smiles as he drummed on a phantom drum set, wiggling his hips as he danced the group.

"That was so awesome," he exclaimed happily "we are going to kill in San Francisco!"

"And after that," Aster exulted with a fist pump "L.A.!"

"YEAH!" Tooth squealed as she jumped up and down.

"Guys, calm down," North said waving his hands gently "we don't know if we got LA yet, and the show in San Francisco is still two weeks away."

"Two weeks of fun in the sun," Jack hooted "the beaches, the food, the crazed fan girls begging for autographs!"

"Please," Aster scoffed "we're not well known enough yet ta have that kind o' attention."

"Aster is right," North nodded "besides, while we will take time out for fun, we need to focus on practicing and rehearsals so that the San Francisco show goes perfect. If we want to do a show in LA, we have to up our game!"

Jack pouted at the mention of work, but then gave a resigned sigh "You're right," he muttered.

"Don't worry Jackie," Aster said with a fond smile as he wrapped a muscular arm around the boy's neck "we'll make sure ta let ya have a few days o' fun before bustin' our butts with rehearsals."

"Universal Studios?" Jack asked hopefully.

"Too far away," Aster began but was stopped by the look of utter disappointment cross the younger boy's face. Heaving a sigh, the young man ruffled Jack's head "how about I take a look at the budget and see if we can afford a night at an RV park and a day at Universal Studios? I can't promise anything, but I'll try and see if I can shuffle things around."

"YES!" Jack bounced in excitement pumping his arms.

North shook his head while Sandy gave a silent laugh and signed to the young man _"You are powerless against Jack's puppy dog eyes."_

"Aw Shad'dup Sandy," Aster growled while Jack grinned up at him "I'm not powerless, I just…know how much the kid was lookin' forward to havin' some time off, tha's all."

Sandy rolled his eyes while he and North signed in unison "_Riiiight…"_

"Rack off," Aster grumped as he gave Jack's grinning face a playful shove backwards "come on, I don't know about you lot but I'm starvin' and I don't much care ta listen ta Pitch and his band o' fearlin's."

"Sounds good to me," Tooth said giving a stretch and a happy sigh "one of the guys that works backstage and helps with putting up and tearing down told me about this awesome seafood place that is crazy popular with the locals and is one of the area's best kept secrets from tourists."

"Oh," North said with a sly grin "did this backstage guy happen to be asking you out on a date?"

"A…date?" Tooth asked in wide eyes cluelessness "he was just telling me about the restaurants in the area."

"Riiiight," Aster snickered elbowing North as he teased the girl "did he happen to walk up and start telling you about said seafood restaurant?"

"Yeah, why?" Tooth pouted, not liking where the conversation was heading.

"Then he was trying to ask you on a date, Toothy." Jack finished in a monotone voice.

"WHAT…NO?!" the girl gasped before turning a slight shade of green "I…totally blew him off…"

"YOU DID WHAT?!" came the unanimous response from all four males.

"I thought he was trying to tell me good restaurants," Tooth responded with innocent eyes slowly filling with tears "and I didn't let him finish, but instead I told him that it sounds like a great place to eat with my group and walked away!"

Tooth melted into a puddle of tears, and the boys face palmed at her blissful ignorance concerning men. North walked over and put an arm around her "It is ok Toothy," he consoled the bawling female "I'm sure you didn't mean to be rude."

"But I WAS rude," she wailed "and now it's my entire fault if he starts to hate us and gives the agency a negative review!"

North winced and gestured for Aster, Sandy, and Jack to jump in and help him at any time. The muscular Australian gave a helpless shrug, while Sandy scratched his head and mimed whistling, while Jack bit his lip and immediately turned around and started sneaking away from emotional females and the buckets of tears being cried. North shook his fist at the traitors, before turning back to Tooth.

"Listen," he said softly "you did right thing, our agent told us to discourage any dating between us or workers while on tour, it would be bad for business."

"R-Really?" she hiccupped.

"Yeah," Aster jumped in when he finally saw an opening that he could actually use "lookie here Sheila, it wouldn't be wise ta date one of the backstage workers. For all we know he could be a spy sent by a rival agency bent on destroying our team from the inside. It's better ta accept date offers from people outside this circle, ya get me?"

North rolled his eyes and signed to Aster behind Tooth _"Could have used your help before I handled it, bro."_

"_You handled it though,"_ Aster stealth signed while Tooth blew her nose _"so what's the big deal?"_

"You know," the female said with a nasally voice as she wiped her tears "you guys are right."

"Of course we are," North exclaimed brightly as his glare towards Aster magically transformed into a smile directed at Tooth.

"Even if I knew that he was trying to ask me out," Tooth continued "I wouldn't be able to accept his invitation, so its better this way."

"Exactly," Aster practically shouted as his shoulders deflated in relief.

"Let's go get dinner," she concluded with a decisive nod.

"Couldn't have said it better myself," Jack grinned as he magically appeared within the circle and held out his arm for the now calmed girl to take.

Aster flicked Jack in the back of the head for his earlier gutless attitude, while North traded sighs with Sandy.

"_That's one bullet successfully dodged,"_ Sandman signed with a silent laugh.

"_True,"_ North replied with a soft chuckle _"God save us from emotional women who have no idea about how attractive they are."_

"_Agreed."_

The group walked out of the concert hall, each looking forward to dinner, but North looked back towards the building with an unhappy gaze. Something about what Aster had said about the man possibly being a spy somehow rang true with him, and the large man could not ignore the uncomfortable churning in his gut about the whole situation. Something was up, and he was worried about just what.

…

Later on that night, Pitch met with one of the backstage workers, his topaz gaze gleaming in the dark as he watched the man approach him from out of the shadows.

"So," Pitch sneered "is it done?"

The worker, Corbin, gave an unhappy sigh as he scratched the back of his neck "No man, I tried, but the chick is too clueless to know I was trying to ask her out."

The dark man let out a growl of dissatisfaction "The plan was simple," he snarled "ask her out, get her to fall head over heels for you, and get information from her about her groups weaknesses, and you couldn't even manage that?"

"Hey," the guy barked defensively "I did what you said, it isn't my fault that she cut me off and walked away before I could finish."

"Then maybe you weren't being assertive enough," Pitch sighed with strained tolerance "were you standing there and talking like some platonic imbecile, or did you actually try to act like a knight in shining armor trying to sweep her off her feet?"

"If it's so easy, then why don't you have a girlfriend?" Corbin sneered.

Pitch felt his lip curl in unbridled fury, and before he knew it, his fist was flying at the man but was redirected last minute into the wall. Corbin felt his breath hitch as his heart hammered in his chest at the figure of the intimidating man in front of him. Pitch stood there for a few minutes, breathing hard as he struggled to contain his fury before leaning back, and cradling his now throbbing hand.

"I'll just bring down Epikaos myself," he whispered menacingly "without the help of lower intellectuals like you."

Whirling around, Pitch stalked away, his face a grimace of pain mixed with anger. He wasn't done yet, that was just one of his side plans to help aid him in destroying Epikaos, but he had quickly learned that the way to do that was not through faked romance. No, he needed to do something more viable, something with lasting results. Walking through the backstage area, Pitch's eyes fell on the clipboard of the tour manager, and an evil grin lit his features.

Maybe he just found the answer to his problems.

**OH NOES! What does Pitch have planned?! **

**I guess you guys will just have to wait and see!**

**REVIEW! And I have decided not to do the contest anymore for a bit(call it a vacation) BUT I AM still taking requests! So feel free to leave them, and I will use any and all that tickle my muse into moving!**


	61. Visions2

**So the second installment of Visions is here, and I hope ya'll enjoy it!**

"Jack," North called a grin full of glee on his face "Jack you must see this!"

The large man had been working in his office, and combating against boredom, when Rex had wandered in giving him an idea. Now three hours later, Santa had not only taught Rex many different types of tricks, but had also trained him in fetching him various tools from his toolbox. The fact that Rex now knew the difference between a monkey wrench and needle nose pliers only made the accomplishment seem sweeter. The large dog pranced after North, his mouth a happy grin as he followed the large man to Jack's room.

"Jack?" North queried knocking on the door.

Receiving no response, North cast a worried and confused glance down at Rex and tried the door, but found it locked. Santa felt his brow furrow in concern "Strange," he murmured as he walked away.

He could have sworn that Jack was here because he had popped into his office asking if he could use the library, and so since he was no longer in the library North could only assume he was reading the books he had borrowed in his room. But the door was locked, and Jack rarely locked the door due to his severe claustrophobia, plus it was odd that Jack would ignore North and not answer his door. The whole situation made North's stomach churn in discomfort, and a palpable fear stabbed his heart and made the hair rise on the back of his neck. Something was wrong, and North feared that Jack was involved and was choosing not to ask the Guardians for help. That thought only made North's anxiety worse, and soon the man was sitting in his chair gazing miserably at the globe, one hand absently stroking Rex's fur.

"What is going on with Jack?" North wondered aloud.

"I was about ta ask ya the same thing," a voice cut in.

North whirled around to face Bunny, and a relieved smile cut across his features "You feel it too?"

"Yeah," Bunny nodded "somethin's up, and I think I only have a small piece o' the puzzle."

"You know something?" North asked.

The rabbit moved his head back and forth, unsure of how to answer "…Maybe…" he replied slowly "but I'm not spillin' until we got Tooth and Sandy here ta listen, I have a feelin' that this is just the beginnin' of somethin' bad."

North nodded then strode over to the lever to turn on the Northern lights "Let's just hope that Jack is fine and he comes at the summons," the large man sighed "if he is truly avoiding us, then I fear something bad is taking place."

Bunny nodded, but his eyes were already distant as he became immersed in thoughts and memories of the night just little over a week ago. Jack had woken up from what Aster later found out was a vision, and not a very pleasant one at that, and since then he had been avoiding the Guardians at all costs unless it was absolutely unavoidable. Bunny was worried about their youngest member, not just because of the vision and what it could mean, but also because the Pooka could practically smell Jack's anxiety over the whole thing. No doubt the boy was driving himself crazy with worry, and will end up sick, hurt, or an emotional mess, things that Aster wanted to keep from happening.

For now though, both he and North could only wait for the other Guardians, and pray that the churning in their guts were wrong.

….

Jack looked toward the Northern Lights dancing in the sky, snowy white teeth catching his bottom lip in indecision before turning around again, and pulling his hood up over his head. Jack was on a mission tonight, and he didn't want to become distracted, or let the Guardians know about what he was doing. With a sigh Jack shoved his hand in his hoodie pouch, readjusted his grip on his staff, and then continued his lonely trek towards the one person he hoped and prayed had the answer to his problem. Pitch Black.

The winter child paused when he came in view of the hole leading down to Pitch's lair, his brain buzzing with paranoia over whether he could really trust Pitch. In the past few years since their little adventure watching Broadway shows together, Pitch and the Guardians had come to a strange yet peaceful truce, and so Jack had no fear of the dark man hurting him, but rather he was afraid that Pitch would get in touch with his adult sensibilities and go tattle to the Guardians. Jack knew that keeping this a secret was going to be hard, unhealthy, and extremely cruel to him and his new family, but secrecy was vital. Jack couldn't chance telling them and have North end up dying because he had told, or worse, mass genocide of believers due to North not knowing how to follow the rules and changing the prophecy.

Taking a deep breath as if to combat the worry and fear threatening to drown him, Jack jumped into the hole, his blue eyes blinking against the darkness. Skidding to a stop, the winter child gave another shaky breath, his heart hammering in his chest as he felt his vision tilt.

"You don't look well Jack," a familiar voice whispered from the darkness "in fact I would say that you are looking even more pale than usual."

"Pitch," the boy mumbled "just come out, I don't feel like talking."

The dark man melted from the shadows, his face screwed in a look of confused concern "Jack Frost doesn't feel like…talking?" he grumbled "If that's not a dead giveaway of your feeling unwell or upset, I don't know what is."

"I need your help," Jack sighed "help that I hope is within your power to give."

Pitch leaned against the wall of his cavern, one nonexistent eyebrow raised as he gave an incredulous snort "That's even harder to believe," he said with a dark chuckle "you rarely ask the Guardians for personal help, so it must be something truly horrible if you're coming to _me._"

"Will you just shut up and listen," the boy snapped as his face peeking out from under the hood to reveal blood shot eyes with dark bags underneath "this isn't some game, and I'm not interested in trading witty banter!"

The boogeyman jerked back almost like he had been slapped, he had already known that Jack wasn't doing well that much was obvious, but now that he had gotten a proper look at the boy Pitch could not deny the bubble of concern growing in his chest.

"Alright Jack," the specter said in seeming nonchalance as he tried to placate the boy into calming down "what is it you wish to discuss?"

Pitch gestured with his hand and a table and chairs was molded from nightmare sand in front of them. Jack plopped down in the chair, immediately crossing his arms on the table, and resting his head on them. His hood hid his eyes from view, something Pitch was relieved for, he was finding the sight of those sleep deprived eyes, something he used to gain pleasure from, mildly disturbing. Taking a seat, the boogeyman crossed his legs and placed his hands in his lap, patiently waiting for Jack to begin.

"You know why I haven't been sleeping," Jack muttered in a tone that was more a statement more than a question.

"Yes," Pitch answered slowly "I am the Nightmare King, and so when someone receives a nightmare that is not of my making, it tends to attract my notice."

"You know they aren't nightmares," Jack whispered in a voice that echoed of torment and anger.

"No," Pitch sighed "no, they're not."

"You've seen them," the boy continued solemnly.

"Yes," the dark man nodded "not the prettiest future we have to look forward to, do we?"

"No kidding," the boy groaned before giving a bitter laugh "the funny thing is, according to my visions, it says darkness will fall…but we're not enemies anymore, so what does it mean?"

"Wonder will die," Pitch shrugged "there is a spirit stronger than me that wants to destroy North and take over the world, and according to your vision it is a very evil spirit that has an excellent chance of winning."

"But what does it _mean_?" Jack reiterated more forcefully.

Pitch pursed his lips, before heaving a sigh "My best guess…?" he said quietly "the one thing that kills any kind of good force within a person is bitterness. You can have the most loving, kind person in the entire world, but if they are hurt, and they allow those negative feelings to twist into hate and then take root as a deep bitterness, they will become the most evil form of themselves with almost no hope of recovery."

"So…?" Jack pouted, quickly tiring of Pitch's long drawn out explanation.

"Let's just say," the dark man continued "that there may be a spirit that was once inherently good, but was hurt by something or even someone that has turned them into a monster because they weren't willing to get over that hurt and move on with their lives. Somehow that spirit has set their sights on North, for reasons we have yet to understand, and you have a very slim chance of saving him should you be able to do so without changing the prophecy. Bitterness and hate is darkness Jack, and anyone who has given themselves over to it has lost all reason or ability to think clearly, all they are focused on is the revenge that is supposedly going to bring them closure."

"You…used to be like that," Jack whispered.

"Yes," the boogeyman murmured "but strangely enough it was you and the Guardians that broke me out of it, a thought that is both horrifying and gratifying in the same moment."

Jack allowed a ghost of a smile quirk his mouth before returning to the previous thought "I need to save him Pitch, he's like my dad, and I can't lose my dad…again."

"I know," Pitch nodded as he struggled to find the right words "but the chances of you doing so are…extremely…small."

"Has anyone defied death before?"

The question caught the boogeyman off guard sending him into a mild panic "Well," he said uncomfortably "not in the way you're thinking."

"What happened?" Jack persisted.

"You don't want to know." Pitch shook his head firmly.

A stubborn pout appeared on the winter child's face and he clenched his fists "I need you to be honest with me Pitch."

Pitch blinked slowly at the boy his brain backpedaling as he raced to find some way to derail this conversation "Honesty is not my strong suit."

"Too bad," Jack growled "I want to know, now tell me!"

The dark man groaned as he rubbed his face with both hands "Why do you insist on me doing things that pain you Jack?" he snarled "You would be better off not knowing!"

"No," Jack practically shouted "now tell me, what happened?!"

"Millions died, Jack!" Pitch finally bellowed "I saw the whole thing! It was during the reign of Justinian I over the Byzantine Empire! He became ill with a horrible illness, and his chamberlain was so desperate to save the life of a bloodthirsty tyrant, he sought the help of the spirits. We don't know the rules like you do Jack, we never had to learn them, and so one of the spirits in our realm gave the chamberlain a special medicine that saved Justinian's life, defying fate and death. And because of that, at least fifty million people died of a certain disease…the black death. Justinian was cruel, but he was still the emperor, and so his value was spread all across the Roman Empire, every person whose life he had ever affected was touched in some form or fashion by the bubonic plague."

"…No…" Jack murmured as he fell against the back of his seat, head bowing from the gravity of what would happen should he fail in saving North without changing the prophecy.

Pitch crossed his arms with a huff as he too leaned back in anger and dissatisfaction "Yes," he growled "look Jack, despite our history and the former hate I used to hold for you and the other Guardians, I do want to help you. But you must look at the facts, the chances of you succeeding are slim at best! Fifty million people died just from one human emperor, can you imagine the devastation should we defy fate over someone with the value of Santa Clause? Can you?"

Jack pulled his knees against his chest as pale hands tugged his hood down over his face "What do I do?" he asked in a broken sob.

"Honestly Jack," Pitch sighed bracing his elbows on the table and burying his face in his hands "I don't know, I just don't know."

Jack melted into uncontrollable weeping as he considered the repercussions should he fail, and Pitch could only sit in his own silent grief, unable to offer comfort for a cause he knew was next to impossible to achieve.

…

"So you're saying that Sweet Tooth has visions of the future?" Tooth asked in a quavering voice.

"Yeah," Bunny murmured "I didn't know till about a week ago when he woke up screamin' from one, and he told me the rules and such. I don't know what the prophecy means, but I think it has somethin' ta do with why Snowflake ain't stickin' around us much anymore."

"You think he is making himself worried sick?" North stated.

Aster nodded before giving a heavy sigh "I know he doesn't want ta tell us what he dreamed, because him tellin' us may make it come true, but at the same time…"

"You hate not being allowed to support him." Tooth finished with a smile.

"Yeah," the rabbit nodded.

"We will find a way to help," North said in a firm voice of decision "even if it means that staying out of his way and giving space is how."

"I don't like it," the Pooka groaned "but I guess that it's the only way ta go, isn't it?"

Tooth sighed as she nodded her head yes before perking up with what she hoped was a convincing smile "I think that everything will turn out fine," she said with muted brightness "I mean, we even have Pitch as an ally, so if something bad happens, we can handle it, right?"

"That's right Sheila," Aster smiled softly though his look of hope didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Indeed," North clapped his hands together and rubbing them vigorously "we just need to keep being optimistic, yeah?"

Sandy grinned, giving two thumbs up, and soon the Guardians were talking of other things, distracting themselves from the dark shadow of worry that was looming in the back of their minds.

**How was that? I told you guys that Visions was going to be angsty, is it angst enough for ya sadistic pain addicts? LOL**

**Once again you guys, REVIEW!**


	62. Toddler Bunny2

**Ok, I think I have a decent groove down on how I'm going to update each arc, which goes as follows; Visions, then Toddler Bunny, then Pitch's Passion, then Epikaos.**

**The arcs will be updated in this order from here on out, which will help me because that gives me more time for each to plan what I want to happen. Because Visions is darker and more into Angst, but Toddler Bunny will be completely fluff and comedy, and then Pitch's passion is more drama and soul searching type, while Epikaos is just plain fun!**

**Hope you guys don't mind, and it will give you an idea on what to expect as far as knowing which chapter will be posted. I cannot afford to keep owing people Reeses candy every time one of my readers loses a bet on what chapter is up next…mystery reader, you know who you are!**

**Now…TODDLER BUNNY!**

"Aster!" Jack shrieked, running around the workshop with wide fearful eyes "Bunny, where are you?!"

Jack had been playing cops and robbers with Bunny, enjoying his time with the regressed Pooka when suddenly little Aster had declared himself on 'the lam' and run away squealing and giggling. At first the winter spirit was ok with the impromptu game of hide and seek, but now after two hours of not being able to find the mischievous bunny Jack was beginning to panic. He had been flying and running around the workshop like a sugar crazed squirrel, screaming at the top of his lungs as he tried to find Aster's hiding place. He hadn't told the Guardians that he had lost the baby rabbit, and he had no intention of telling them until he was sure that he wouldn't be able to find Aster on his own.

"Aster, you get your cotton tailed posterior out here right NOW!" Jack yelled at the top of his lungs.

A small voice giggled among the rafters "Nope," the child version of the Easter Bunny taunted "ya gotta find me!"

Jack felt his heart practically explode with relief when he heard Aster, and swiftly followed the giggles "I mean it," he growled "this isn't funny anymore."

"I'm a robber," Aster explained in a child's logical voice "you're the cop, you have ta find me."

Suddenly an unknown emotion bubbled up within Jack, one that made him grit his teeth as his heart beat wildly, he was angry. He didn't know why, but for some reason this game that had gone so horribly wrong by Bunny hiding and making Jack worry about him had made the spirit angry. Jack loved games, and he often played pranks on others, but he had never had the tables turned on him so completely. Eyes cold with the fury of Bunny not listening to him when he explicitly said to come out, Jack followed the giggling until he found little Aster sitting in a corner of the rafters, dangerously high up off the ground. Diving forward, Jack grabbed the squirming bundle, and immediately flew him back to safety, plopping him on the couch with a stern glare.

"Aster," he said in a dangerously soft tone "I told you to come out and stop hiding, I had been looking all over for you, and I was worried sick!"

"But," a small pout pushed out a small bottom lip "I was just playin'."

"I know you were," Jack groaned in exasperation "but there comes a time when a game is not funny anymore, when it gets scary because I can't find you and don't know where you are."

Aster crossed his arms with a huff as the pout took on a stubborn tilt "That's the point of hide and seek…you aren't supposed ta know where I am."

"And another thing," Jack continued "you shouldn't be climbing on the rafters, what if you fall?"

Aster shrugged "I won't."

"But you could," Jack shot back.

"But I _didn't_." Aster whined in a petulant voice.

Jack felt his jaw drop in shock at the sheer will being displayed by the child. Here was mister cautious and careful, lord don't-touch-my-stuff, and king of pitching a fit when Jack did something even slightly dangerous, being a sulky child because Jack was trying to be rational about him endangering his own life by disappearing and then climbing up on the rafters to an extremely dangerous height. Closing his eyes, Jack pinched the bridge of his nose, and took several deep breaths before once again pinning the unhappy toddler with his most serious look only to find the couch empty and the bunny in question once again climbing up towards the rafters. Jack bit back the snarl of frustration as he sped forward and grabbed Aster, once again putting him back in his spot on the couch.

"Listen here young man," he said firmly "you are not going to climb on the rafters anymore, you understand? It's too dangerous, and I don't want you getting hurt."

"Why?" Aster wailed "I didn't fall when you found me, and I'm not a baby, I can do things myself!"

"Aster stop being such a brat and listen to me, I'm trying to tell you something important!"

Tooth wandered in, her eyebrows shooting up at the blatant anger painted on Jack's face, while Bunny sat on the couch looking for the entire world like a stubborn child who was intent on disobeying every rule given to him by adults, which is probably what he was at the moment. "Uh," she chuckled nervously "did I interrupt something?"

"Aster won't listen to me," Jack said pointing an accusatory finger like an older sibling ratting out their baby brother to mom "he keeps disappearing, and then doing crazy dangerous stuff even though I told him not to!"

"Oh…really?" Tooth tried not to giggle.

"YES!" Jack exclaimed "he just doesn't understand that its bad to do stuff that's dangerous or disappear without telling anyone, and making everyone who cares about him….worry."

Suddenly the winter spirit got quiet as the words he just said sunk in…

He did those things, more often than not he was disappearing somewhere and driving the Guardians crazy with worry, not to mention the times he would go off on his own fully confident in his own strength only to come back broken and bruised because he had bitten off more than he could chew. But here he was, yelling at Bunny for doing what he did so often, and getting angry when Aster responded by being stubborn and not admitting that he was doing something wrong. Talk about role reversal, the very thought of it made Jack sick, and he softly ran a hand through his hair before turning back to Bunny. The toddler sat on the couch, his stubborn pout still in place, though his green eyes gleamed with hurt.

"Jack is mean," he said softly in a quivering voice before jumping off the couch and running away.

"Bunny," the winter spirit said stretching out one hand before giving a groan and turning to Tooth "What do I do?"

"Well, for starters," the fairy said gently placing a hand on his thin shoulder "you can apologize to Aster for yelling at him. He is pretty stubborn, and likes to play games and pranks, but he is pretty sensitive and doesn't like being yelled at."

"Sounds familiar," Jack muttered hanging his head in guilt.

"You two are more alike than you think Jack," Tooth laughed softly "don't worry Jack, you're young, and the only thing you are doing wrong is not laying down the law in a loving way. Part of taking care of kids, is teaching them boundaries, but not being so strict that they begin to hate you. It's all about balance."

"So," the sprite sighed as he scratched the back of his neck "I need to apologize for yelling, but still not give in as far as teaching Aster that climbing on the rafters and disappearing on me is bad?"

Tooth gave the boy a bright smile "Yep," she chirped "I know it's hard, but I think you'll be a quick learner as far as taking care of Bunny goes."

Jack let out a sigh "Fine," he groaned "here I go looking for him again, wish me luck."

"Try the broom closet," Tooth hummed with an amused smile "he always seems to hide there when he's upset."

With measured steps, Jack walked towards the broom closet currently hiding the baby rabbit. He didn't like it, but he had a lot to think about, and it mostly had to do with things he had done in the past. Nevertheless though, he had a bunny to apologize to, and assert authority over. It didn't sound pleasant or easy, but it had to be done. Finally arriving at the closet, Jack brought hesitant fingers up to the wood, pausing for just a moment before knocking on the door gently.

"Aster," he said "you in there?"

"Go away," came the muffled reply "I don't wanna see you."

"Come on kid," Jack sighed "I just wanna talk."

"Why? You hate me." Was the retort softened by a small sob.

"I don't hate you." Jack said as he felt his heart break over the tiny sniffles he could hear through the door.

"Then why did you yell?" Bunny wept.

"Because I care about you," the sprite replied softly "and not knowing where you are, only to find you on a rafter super high up scared me half to death."

"You called me a brat," Aster sniffled.

"I'm sorry," Jack apologized "that was mean, and I won't ever do it again."

A drawn out pause ensued, causing Jack to shuffle uncomfortably and bite his lip, before finally the door was opened by the three foot tall toddler Pooka "Promise?" the child quavered.

Jack felt a soft smile light up his face, and he knelt down and held out both arms "I promise."

Aster ran into his arms, wrapping his own around Jack's neck and snuggling his face into his shoulder "I'm sorry!" the toddler bunny wailed as he melted into another round of sobs.

Jack bit his lip as he struggled not to laugh at how adorable the Pooka was acting, and merely squeezed him in a tight hug and began to do what Bunny had done for him so many times before. Patting him on the back, Jack stroked the little rabbit's head, humming softly as he rocked him. Aster sobbed, snuggling as close to Jack as he could physically manage until his weeping slowed down to shuddering breaths accompanied by little sniffles. A small yawn broke through his small mouth, and soon the toddler had popped his thumb between his lips, and was sucking it contentedly while drifting off to sleep in the arms of his now big brother. Jack let out a snort, but cut it off before it could grow into a guffaw over the sight of little Aster sucking his thumb, and could only sit silently kicking his legs over the blackmail he had just received. Finally gaining control, Jack gently stood, occasionally leaning down to snuggle the downy head resting on his shoulder.

Walking back into the living room, Tooth greeted the two with a soft giggle as she stroked the sleepy head "Aw," she cooed "I had forgotten that he sucks his thumb."

Yeah," Jack grinned "I can't wait to tease him about it!"

"Ja-ack," Tooth groaned with a playful slap on his arm "don't you dare, he'll try to find some way to make himself stop."

Jack pouted, making the scene only that much more adorable before giving a fond shake of his head "So what do we do with little guy?"

"Oh I think it's definitely bedtime," Tooth laughed "he's been playing all day, and it would be a good idea to get him to bed while he's sleepy."

"Good idea," Jack nodded.

Waving her hand, Tooth gestured for Jack to follow her to Aster's room, and the trio made their way to the special chamber designated to Bunny for his one hundred year rebirth. "I'll get North" Tooth whispered "we usually have someone sleep in the same room as Aster because he gets nightmares, and we don't want Pitch to have access into the workshop."

"No," a soft voice murmured causing the two to glance down at the furry bundle.

"What's wrong?" Jack said giving the bunny a small comforting squeeze.

Tearful green eyes looked up at the boy, and a small paw tugged on Jack's hoodie "I want Jack," he whimpered "Jack stay with me, please?"

Tooth melted under the endearing gaze, and looked at the winter sprite "How can you say no to that little face?" she gushed.

Jack sighed "I can't."

Aster's face brightened back up as the two wandered into the room equipped with a large bed and lay down. Jack tucked the rabbit in under the covers before lying down next to him on top of the blankets. The toddler immediately snuggled up to the frost spirit, his little nose twitching as he once again placed his thumb between his teeth, and sucked on it. Tooth dropped a kiss on both of their heads, murmuring her good nights, before leaving the room. Jack smiled at his little armful, cuddling the child to his chest, before letting his eyes drift closed.

"Jack," a small voice whispered tiredly in the darkness.

"Yeah Aster?" the teen replied.

"Are you my big brother?" the rabbit asked between a yawn.

"Yeah, I'm your big brother." The sprite chuckled with a fond shake of his head.

"Jack?" the little voice said after about a minute.

"What, Bunny?" the sprite yawned.

A little head burrowed into the front of his shirt "I love you," it whispered softly.

Jack felt a ball of emotion get stuck in his throat, and he squeezed the little rabbit tighter against him.

"I love you too."

**OH MY WOW! I somehow managed to write that in under an hour. I guess my muse really likes Toddler Bunny.**

**OK you lot, REVIEW!**


	63. Pitch's Passion6

**So here is the next installment of Pitch's Passion…ENJOY**

"Hey Bunny," Jack said softly as they walked towards the snack bar "why did Tooth look like she was about to cry earlier?"

Bunny's ears twitched at the question, making him turn to look around and ensure that the fairy had been successfully ditched and was not within hearing distance, before looking back at Jack "Why ya ask mate?" he queried in a low whisper.

"Well," Jack pursed his lips before cocking his head gesturing the rabbit to follow him to an empty conference room "it's just at the beginning of the play, I looked over at Tooth and she looked like she was ready to cry."

Realization hit Bunny and he nodded understandingly "It's a long story Frostbite, and just about as sad as my own."

"We have half an hour until the show starts," Jack pressed "we have time."

"Ok," the Pooka sighed pausing and staring into the distance, searching for the right words until finally he began to speak again "Tooth's parents were wonderful people. Her father was human, and her mother was a special warrior from a society known as the Sisters of Flight who were these creatures that were half bird half woman. They were formidable in battle, and somehow her parents met and fell in love. Tooth was then born, and soon grew her wings, but the people of the village began ta hate her for her uniqueness. Long story short, the best friend of Tooth's father betrayed them by leading the villagers ta where she and her parents were hiding, and taking her parents hostage leaving Tooth with a horrible choice. Save her parents? Or go and save herself? Tooth went, but when she found her parents, she was unable to carry them both over the angry mob wishing death on the three of them. Tooth parents told her ta go, and she did, shattering her heart into pieces by doing so."

"That's …horrible," Jack gaped.

"Yeah," Aster nodded "but that's not the end of it. For a whole day, Tooth fell into a dark pit of depression, unable ta cry, unable ta speak, she could only sit in her disbelief and unimaginable grief over what had befallen her. Then she remembered a gift her mother had given her, a small pouch with her baby teeth inside and a note from her mother explaining the power held inside a person's baby tooth for containing memories. But one of the teeth wasn't hers, but was one of great power only ta be used in a time of greatest need. Tooth held her pouch, and fell asleep, comforted by the memories held within. Years passed and Tooth eventually began gathering the teeth of other children, becoming the Tooth Fairy."

"But what the tooth of great power?" Jack asked softly.

"Well," Aster continued scratching under his chin "she eventually met the traitorous best friend of her father's, the man who was responsible for killing her parents. The man trapped her in a cage, and was preparing to kill her, but she revealed the magical tooth which not only made the cage disappeared but created the mini fairies. Soon Tooth was leading the swarm of baby fairies, bird women, and jungle animals in a fight against the traitor and his fellow hunters. They won, and now we have Tooth as a Guardian."

Jack nodded, as understanding slowly sunk in "So in a way," the boy said slowly "Tooth knows how Mary feels, because they both lived in India and they both lost their parents, and neither of them could ever truly cry. They also both found refuge in a garden of sorts, so no wonder Tooth feels she can understand her so well."

Bunny nodded "Look kid," he said gently "it ain't pretty, but life rarely is for the truly great and those who have something big in store for 'em. She's gotten over her parent's death, and she's doin' great as a Guardian. Don't pity her mate, just be grateful that she's one of us, and she has a new family now."

Jack nodded, his face lighting up with a grateful smile "Ok,"

…

Toothiana stared at the snack bar, her eyebrows rising higher and higher as her brain processed the sheer amount of junk food piled behind the glass. Pitch walked up behind her, his hands clasped behind his back, and he felt a small chuckle shake his frame.

"While the masses see something delicious," Pitch sneered "I think you see the representation of your personal apocalypse?"

Tooth rolled her eyes as she gave the dark man a reluctant smile "Surprisingly astute Pitch," she laughed softly "and you are correct, I can't believe people actually eat this junk."

"Hmm," Pitch hummed before leaning in close and shielding his mouth with one hand "if I were you, I would keep an eye on your precious winter spirit, I think I saw him grab two of everything."

Toothiana's eyes widened to the size of dish plates as her mouth fell open comically "Please tell me you are joking?"

Pitch shook his head solemnly "And if assumptions are correct, Bunny also grabbed quite a bit for himself, specifically gummies."

Tooth let out a gasp, her delicate hands flying to her mouth as the gears churned in her head "Not gummies?!"

"Indeed," Pitch practically hissed "…Gummies…"

Tooth looked at the dark man before she suddenly noticed that he was holding back a smirk, and his eyes were holding an uncharacteristic twinkle of amusement "OH!" Tooth growled as she punched him playfully on the shoulder "You WERE joking!"

Pitch allowed himself to enjoy a good laugh, though not too good, before returning his gaze to the fairy "I apologize my lady," he smirked "but you have to admit, you make it too easy."

"You're a jerk," Tooth sniffed as she turned away to keep her smile hidden from the boogeyman.

"Tell me something I don't know," the man chuckled.

"Ok," the fairy turned twinkling lavender eyes on Pitch "you're an antisocial dipwad with fashion issues, and an inferiority complex."

"Oh Toothiana," Pitch said with a mock gasp clutching his chest and stumbling backwards a few steps "you wound me!"

Tooth allowed a giggle trill from her throat as she found that she was actually enjoying her conversation with her former enemy "You simply made it easy," she grinned "far too easy I might add."

Pitch allowed a smirk to quirk his mouth and opened his mouth to retort when they were interrupted by a small cough. Turning around, the two saw Bunny and Jack standing there, each holding a look of suspicious amusement on their faces.

"If ya are done flirtin'," Bunny snickered softly "can we get back ta our seats?"

Tooth felt her face heat up and she practically jumped away from Pitch "We were NOT flirting!"

"Riiiight," Jack said wiggling his eyebrows before walking away towards his seat with Bunny.

Pitch coughed, suddenly feeling very awkward and uncomfortable, gesturing with his hand he turned back to the fairy "Shall we then?" he growled.

Tooth let out a nervous laugh before scurrying after the boys, Pitch following a few steps behind, his face creased in thought.

…..

Jack felt a yawn build in the back of his throat, but the winter child bit it back, fighting valiantly to keep his eyes open. They were watching Mary Lennox work on helping her cousin learn how to walk by sneaking him out to the secret garden and helping him build his strength. The story was getting interesting because of the fact that the boy was discovering that the lies about him being weak and liable to die at any time were exactly that, just lies. Jack found the whole thing of the kids fighting against the overprotective housekeeper, as well as Collin's wish to meet his father and make him see that he was worthy of his love. Jack could understand the desperation in Collin's eyes, he had also felt that same need for someone to love him despite his shortcomings. Unfortunately though, it was not enough to keep Jack awake. Jack had eaten all his snacks in the effort to not fall asleep, but the sugar rush was quickly dissipating leaving Jack tired and woozy. That, and the fact that it was the beginning of Jack's next hibernation cycle, made staying awake extremely difficult.

Pitch also was empathizing with the child.

He had lived a life where everyone he knew had preconceived notions about him that he had no choice but to follow. For a long time Pitch had decided that he would be the evil Boogeyman everyone painted him out to be because he had no other choice, no other option to cling to. With those dark thoughts pushing him, Pitch became the monster everyone thought he was, in a strange sadistic hope of proving them right and just giving in; but now that he sat there in the Theatre, watching a child go through a metamorphic change from imprisoned creature of darkness, to a person of strength able to walk in the light without fear of the future. Pitch wanted that, so very badly, but he wasn't sure of he was capable or worthy of such a feat.

Suddenly the dark man was roused from his thoughts by a gentle prodding. Looking over he noticed Bunny grinning, and pointing with one furry finger "Look down," the Pooka mouthed.

The man did, and was surprised to see Jack had fallen asleep on his shoulder, his mouth slightly ajar while breathy snores whispered between his lips. A smirk quirked the boogeyman's mouth and he chuckled softly. Looking back up at Aster he whispered "We win."

Aster grinned as he reached into his pouch and pulled out paint and brushes, while Tooth flew off quickly to grab clothes and makeup. Pitch immediately began quietly discussing theme ideas for Jack's new look with the Pooka, and soon all were busily underway in their part of the bargain.

…..

North marched into the Theatre, his ears picking up on the sound of clapping as he decided the best place to look was the very top balcony so that he could look for Bunny. Walking up the stairs, the large man hummed happily to himself, already thinking on the ideas Bunny may help to inspire when he stopped dead in his tracks at the top of the stairs. There in the balcony, all leaning over the unconscious form of the winter spirit, was Bunny, Tooth, and most shockingly…Pitch!

"Wha-What?!" North stammered "What are you DOING?!"

Bunny's mouth fell open, as his paw stopped in midair, and Tooth froze in place from applying makeup. Pitch straightened up, backing away, his face nervous and twitchy at the sudden appearance of Santa Clause. Giving a heavy gulp of apprehension, the man prepared to melt into the shadows, but stopped at North's yell of "Stop Right THERE, Kozmotis Pitchiner!"

Pitch did a face palm, pausing in his steps and stood like a child awaiting punishment. Bunny soon joined him, as well as Tooth, each waiting for North to begin yelling at them, something in which he did not disappoint.

"All three of you, come with me," he bellowed "I will take Jack, and we will all go back to the workshop and I will hear what I expect to be a VERY good explanation for this!"

"Uh," Pitch said clearing his throat "…even me?"

"YES!" was the shouted reply causing all three to cringe.

Within hours they were all seated in the living room on the couch, each dreading the upcoming talk. North came into the room, having cleaned up Jack and placed him in his room, his face serious as he scrutinized the spirits seated on the cushions.

"So," he said "anyone wish to explain why you are all together and painting Jack, or should I just interrogate each of you separately until I get the truth?"

"Uh," Bunny chuckled nervously "Well…It's a long story…"

"And funny!" Tooth added with a high pitched giggle.

"Plus extremely odd," Pitch coughed into his fist.

"Wonderful," North smiled before returning to his former glare "sounds like a story I would like to hear."

Pitch and Tooth both immediately looked at Bunny making the Pooka cringe "WHAT?!"

"I vote you tell him," Pitch sniffed.

"I concur," Tooth smiled innocently.

"Why?!" the Pooka exclaimed pointing at Pitch "It all started with the rat bag on the other side of the couch, maybe HE should spill his guts on how this came about!"

"Ah," Pitch said raising one finger "but I am a habitual liar, and am therefore untrustworthy, so my telling him would be fruitless."

"Like that's an excuse!"

"CHILDREN!" North bellowed "I do not care who tells me, just as long as I get whole story!"

Bunny glared at Pitch, gesturing with both paws for the boogeyman to begin telling his tale, and finally with a resigned sigh, Pitch began from the beginning from Jack discovering his secret passion for theatre, and the eventual joining of each of the Guardians in the pastime. Eventually he made it to the reason why they had been dressing Jack up in the first place, and all three had failed to notice that North was fighting extremely hard against the smile trying to decorate his serious face. Soon the story was over, and the large man coughed in his hand, turning back to the three who were still awaiting punishment.

"First," the Russian tried to growl in a menacing voice "I think it very rude to take advantage of the fact that it is close to Jack's hibernation cycle, and thus he is very tired, and that alone makes your bet null and void as he was going to fall asleep eventually."

The spirits nodded with acquiescent faces "Secondly, I also think it very rude to do these outings without telling me. Despite your newfound…common interest, I wish I had known so that I would not worry."

Pitch felt his heart suddenly conflicted in unknown and completely foreign emotions. North had yet to address the fact that they were with him, and the boogeyman found it extremely odd not to mention almost frightening. Here he was in the lair of his most hated enemy, at least he thought they were still enemies, and the man had yet to become angry or declare Pitch's immediate defeat. The dark specter pursed his lips in thought realizing that the laid back way North was taking all this greatly disturbed, and even angered, him to no end. It made his stomach twist, and his heart feel like it was being stabbed. Was this pity? Was he so pathetic an enemy that they no longer feared him? Or was it worse, were they simply toying with him, tantalizing him with the temptation of friendship and belonging somewhere until they had him where they wanted him only to crush him beneath their boot?

"And lastly," North was finishing up "I think that if you are going to have same bet with Jack on staying awake through whole play, you should do so during winter so he will not be at disadvantage. So I hereby declare that you are all grounded from plays and the theatre until winter, and then you may once again go out."

"I think tha's fair," Bunny nodded.

"I agree," Tooth sighed "What do you think…Pitch?"

The three Guardians looked at the now fuming Boogeyman who was sitting with his hands clenched at his sides "Uh, Pitch?" Bunny asked slowly "Ya ok mate?"

"DON'T CALL ME MATE!" Pitch bellowed as he stood to his full height "You think that I can't see your game for what it is?!"

"Huh?" Tooth said with confused lavender eyes.

"This game you are all playing," the dark specter hissed his eyes glowing with anger and mistrust "I commend you for your marvelous acting, especially yours Toothiana, I was so close to lowering my guard, but I cannot believe that you are all as ok with this as you seem!"

"What is wrong?" North asked crossing his beefy arms.

"WHAT is WRONG?!" Pitch practically shrieked "THIS is wrong! The fact that I'm sitting in the workshop listening to you give the Guardians permission to go to the theatre with ME is WRONG! You pretending to be OK with it, is WRONG! I cannot trust you because I'm too tainted, and I've done evil, and you cannot possibly have forgiven me for that! This is so impossible, it's WRONG!"

Tooth felt her jaw drop as all three realized that Pitch was fighting not against them, but against himself, though none wished to reveal it to the currently infuriated spirit. Somehow the dark specter was beginning to change, not only in his opinion towards the Guardians, but in his very nature and the side effects of this metamorphose were more painful than the man knew how to handle.

"Pitch," Tooth reached out "it's been years since you attacked us last, and to be honest, I'm tired of constantly fighting. I'm ready to try something new."

"No!" Pitch shouted "No no nononoNO! I will not listen to you, I'm evil, and scum, and things cannot change! They SHOULDN'T change! NO! I will not do this, I will not continue this farce any longer! Go ahead and visit the theatre, but I assure you, I will NOT be there!"

Whirling around, the man stalked away, melting into shadow, and leaving the Guardians behind in dumbfounded silence.

**No, this is NOT over!**

**But everyone was wondering what changed or happened that made Pitch an ally in Visions, and so I'm answering that question. I will probably close this arc by the next chapter.**

**And once again you guys REVIEW!**


	64. Off Season2

**So someone requested I do another off season chapter with Jack being all sleepy, and this time I decided to make it all 100% FLUFF! That's right, not angst, no crying, just Jack acting sleepy and adorable!**

**So HERE WE GO!**

Bunny stretched, cracking his back, it had been about a month since Easter and the rabbit was enjoying the first few weeks of his vacation time before he had to start worrying about patterns and egg designs for the next year. Summer was soon to be on its way, and the land was beginning to warm as the snow melted to allow the grass to begin to grow and flowers to bloom. Suddenly Bunny's ears twitched at the thought, warmth, summer…oh no…Jack! He had forgotten that it was already time for them to get Jack and take him to the North Pole, and it was Bunny's turn this year to get him there. Bursting from his warren, Bunny tapped the ground, his mind already going through list of various places the kid could have ended up.

Hopping from the tunnel, Aster sniffed the air, his fur bristling at how warm it already was. Falling to all fours, the rabbit sprinted towards Jack's lake, only to breathe a sigh of relief at what he found. There was no sign of Jack, meaning that the boy may have already moved on…maybe, but the rabbit wouldn't take the first look as the gospel truth, first he had to do a sweep and check the cave where the boy inevitably ended up from time to time, then he would begin the worldwide search for the child.

"Bunny!"

The rabbit looked up in time to see Toothiana waving at him from the air "Tooth!" he cried "Have ya seen Frostbite?"

"That's why I'm here!" The fairy grinned "North told me to get this to you."

With a triumphant giggle and a happy hum, the fairy presented Aster with a snow globe that was currently showing an image of Jack Frost. The bunny felt his jaw drop "What is this thing?"

"Apparently North convinced Jack to wear a special tracker around the beginning of spring" Tooth shrugged "so now we have a way to find him, and we don't have to run all over the place looking for him."

"I wish we had this thing four years ago," Aster grumped as he inspected the globe "thanks Toothy, I'm headin' that way ta get Frostbite and then I'll see ya back at the pole."

"Great," the tooth fairy grinned "Sandy already picked up Rex, so all we need to do now is get Jack to safety."

Bunny nodded as he waved at the fairy as she turned around and flew off. Following the signal on the miniature snow globe, Aster found Jack in no time, and was more than a little amused at how and where he found him. Far in the mountains known as the Alps, Jack lay on a small ledge on the side of a sheer cliff, surrounded by mountain goats that were looking at the winter child with confused curiosity. Bunny created a tunnel that appeared right alongside the boy, shuddering at the immense height, and reaching out of the hole just enough to poke the boy.

"Oi," Bunny murmured "Jackie, you asleep?"

The winter child muttered in his sleep before bleary blue eyes fluttered open to cast an unsteady gaze on the rabbit "Bunny?" he slurred before a loopy grin lit his features and he reached out to wrap thin arms around the rabbit and snuggle him "it is… you." He said between yawns as he drifted back to sleep.

Aster rolled his eyes, but could not fight the amused grin as he held the child close and patted his back "Let's get ya back ta the Pole, eh?"

….

Tooth flew into the workshop, taking a small break from her work to check on Jack only to find the child holding Bunny in a vise like grip. The duo was sitting on the couch, well Bunny was, and Jack was fast asleep lying on the cushions, his head on Bunny's lap and his arms wrapped firmly around his waist. Toothiana stifled a giggle at the way Jack was contentedly cuddling Aster, small breathy snored emanating from his tired frame. The Pooka merely endured it, having grown used to this behavior, and simply read from his book, every once in a while a paw reaching down to absently run itself through Jack's hair making the sprite sigh in happiness. Walking over, Tooth traced Jack's face with her fingertips, gently caressing each line and wrinkle. The extra contact made Jack loosen his hold on Bunny as he fell further into oblivion, and the rabbit immediately noticed.

"Hey Tooth," he whispered "mind takin' my spot while I stretch my legs?"

"Sure" the fairy cooed quickly sitting down after Aster stood up, and laid Jack's head onto her lap.

The winter spirit's face scrunched up in distress, and a small whimper rung from the base of his throat and his hands began to search for his pillow, and Tooth rushed to console him by petting his head and face. And that worked, for a little while at least. Once again the unhappy groans and whimpers began and Jack started squirming around, almost as if he couldn't get comfortable, making Rex whine with concern and lick Jack's face to comfort his master. Tooth hummed, petted, and cuddled the boy, but nothing worked and Jack continued his fussing. Finally the winter child sat up, rubbing his eyes with one hand, a small pout decorating his face.

Tooth examined the boy, well aware of his tendency to sleep walk "Jack?"

Completely forgetting his staff on the couch the boy looked around with unfocused eyes, his head and body gently swaying as he walked in his semi conscious state. Tooth watched him with a fond smile, already well aware that he was searching for Bunny. Jack had a funny habit of becoming irrevocably attached to whomever it was that had found him and brought him back to the Pole, following them around and snuggling them for the entire duration of the summer. It was a trait that all the Guardians were encouraging, especially considering the disaster that happened their first summer with Jack, and they were already accustomed to taking turns babysitting the boy each summer ensuring that he was not disappearing and going somewhere dangerous. Last year it had been Tooth, and she had enjoyed the attention from their youngest, taking tens of thousands of pictures. The year before that was North, and the large man became quite adept at learning how to carve ice and draw blueprints with a sleeping winter child on his hip or sitting on the floor leaning against him.

This year was Bunny, and Jack was not happy that his teddy bear had run away…again.

Another unhappy whine pushed Jack's bottom lip out into an even more pronounced pout as cloudy blue eyes searched for the rabbit. Tooth smiled, knowing that Aster was actually taking a bath and stretching his legs, and the fairy knew that he really was hurrying to finish but apparently not fast enough for Jack. Now he was wandering again, with Tooth and Rex following behind, occasionally snuggling a yeti as he searched for his pillow. Through Jack's eyes, everything was a blur, all he knew was that he was searching for a particularly soft, gray fluffy thing that made him feel safe, and no matter how many fluffy things he cuddled it just wasn't the right one. The fairy held back a coo as the normally tough hellion who avoided letting others see his pain or any type of vulnerability wandered around looking for the entire world like a little child looking for his lost teddy bear.

Jack sniffled, his childlike emotions completely in control in his current state of affairs, and he felt a surge of fear and loneliness overtake him. Flying up in unsteady bursts, the winter child tried the window, hoping that maybe his fluffy thing was just outside, but the window was firmly locked. Tooth sighed with relief when she saw he couldn't escape, but her elation quickly dissipated when she saw the boy fly down, and curl up in a ball next to the wall. Unhappy tears loaded with feeling abandoned built in the weary blue eyes and slowly trekked down his cheeks. The fairy bounced up and down as she too began searching for Bunny, kneeling next to Jack and wiping away the tears, and caressing his face.

"Hurry up Aster," she groaned unhappily as she tried to console the currently disconsolate child.

Finally the Pooka arrived, his coat shiny and glossed from the bath, and considerably more fluffy due to just being dried by a hair dryer "I'm back, how's Frostbite?"

"You took too long," Tooth practically growled as she pointed at the boy currently sobbing quietly.

"Aw Crikey," Aster winced as he rushed forward and gathered the child into his lap.

The affect was immediate, Jack wrapped his arms around Bunny's waist, and snuggled his face into the Pooka's chest, his tears slowing down until they stopped completely. A soft sigh escaped his lips, and a weary hand gave Aster's muscular bicep a gentle slap "Bad pillow, bad." He yawned.

Tooth and Bunny burst into uncontrollable laughter as the rabbit rocked Jack, shaking his head fondly at the child currently holding onto him. "Are ya sure I can't tease him come fall?" he asked with a mischievous grin.

"NO!" Tooth gasped "then he won't let us help him, and will sleep somewhere else."

Aster sighed, and then stood up with his precious armful "A'right, let's get back ta our spot."

Jack didn't reply except to snore, and soon the trio was back in the living room.

…

Some hours later, North also came to check on Jack, his face a warm smile at the exhausted form of their favorite child. Reaching down, he ruffled the white head, his smile widening to a grin at the way Jack sighed contentedly at the contact "I must say," the large man chuckled "despite extra responsibility, I am starting to prefer summer to all other seasons."

"Yeah," Aster smiled as he dipped down to snuffle Jack's head with his muzzle and give it a gentle nudge "even I have ta admit that the blighter's pretty adorable this time o' year."

"What would we do without him?" North wondered aloud as he examined the sleeping face.

"I have no idea," the Pooka replied with a sigh one paw petting Jack's head "he's definitely made it impossible ta live without, ironic since I used ta say that I couldn't stand the git."

"And now?"

"Now?" Aster pursed his lips in careful thought before answering "Now…he's the little brother I never knew I wanted, but definitely always needed."

North smiled warmly at the honest answer, and patted Bunn's shoulder proudly "It is nice to be needed, no?" he said softly "To have someone who looks up to you, and loves you without reservation, someone that needs you to protect them and guide them despite their flaws and failures."

"Yeah," the rabbit practically whispered hugging Jack tenderly "it is."

"Jack is like son to me," North continued casting serious eyes on the Easter spirit "as are you, I hope you know that."

Aster gave the man a smile, his eyes misting over "I do," he replied before giving a harsh cough "ya mind babysittin' him for just a bit, I gotta visit the bathroom somethin' awful."

North let out a jolly laugh, and picked Jack up, holding him they way one would a small child "Go on."

Bunny leapt off the couch, determined to run to the latrine and back in record time, but neither expected Jack to squirm from North's arms and fall on the floor with a whimpered "Nooo!"

Scrambling across the floor, and apparently still traumatized by his earlier abandonment, Jack flung himself at the Pooka wrapping his arms around one of the rabbit's legs. "Mine!"

Aster's ears drooped "I shouldn't have taken the bath till nightfall," he groaned.

"I guess," North said slowly trying hard to stifle the guffaws crawling up his throat "that you will be taking Jack with you?"

Bunny raised the leg Jack was currently attached to, giving it a small shake as if to test the winter child's grip, and seeing Jack still not letting go, heaved a sigh "I guess so."

Turning around, Bunny proceeded to walk out of the living room with Jack dragging behind him, still not loosing the Pooka from his hold. Softly muttering with every step that Bunny took "Mine…mine…mine…"

North watched the rabbit slowly leave the room, and then finally allowed himself to enjoy a good long and loud laugh at Aster's expense. Summer really was turning out to be his favorite season.

**So that was the little one shot dedicated to the summer during their grounding from the theatre. Thought you guys would enjoy it!**

***does the Jedi hand thingy to gain control of your mind* REVIEW!**


	65. Epikaos4

**Epikaos is turning out to be quite popular, eh?**

**Well hopefully this is the chapter where we get a glimpse of what Pitch is planning, I say hopefully because quite frankly, I never have any idea what my fingers will type.**

**I keep forgetting, so to recap…I do NOT own ROTG…there that should be good for the next…*counts on fingers*…twenty or so chapters, right?**

"Hey Aster," Jack shouted across the store "check out these drumsticks!"

"Naw," Aster shouted back somewhere behind a shelf of guitars "ya get yer skinny butt over here and take a look see at these guitar strings."

"No!" Jack yelled giving a grin at the customers who were giving him odd looks.

"YES!" Aster replied the undercurrent of laughter bubbling beneath his yell.

"There's only one way to settle this," Jack cried with a pout that was trying to turn into a smirk.

"YOU'RE ON!"

Setting their objects down, the young men walked to the aisle separating the two sections, both eyed each other, placing their fists behind their backs, while customers watched them in curiosity wondering if they would fight. Jack smirked at the older boy, his white teeth shining in the light of the store. Aster flexed his muscles where he was standing, and then they both lunged forward, shouting at the top of their lungs.

"ROCK!"

"SCISSORS!"

"Ha!" Aster said with a little dance softly patting Jack on the head "I win!"

Jack glared at his scissors before grumbling "…Jerk…"

"Hey," the Aussie said with a smug grin and a shrug "it's not my fault ya stink at rock, paper, scissors, mate. Now get over here, and look at these guitar strings."

"Aw man," Jack groaned as he slowly followed Aster back to the shelf "what could possibly be cool about guitar strings?"

"THIS!" the young man practically squealed "Look, they're LED strings, meaning they light up in the dark!"

Jack's jaw dropped as he scrambled forward "COOL!" he gaped with a wide grin as he grabbed Aster and drug him over to the other side of the store "Look! The drumsticks I wanted to show you, they light up too!"

"AWESOME!" Aster exclaimed with a fist pump.

"What's all the yelling about?" North's voice cut in.

"We found light up stuff!" Jack replied turning so he could wave the guitar strings and drumsticks in his brother's face.

"Huh?" North said trying to follow their movement, but shaking his head when he got dizzy. Grabbing them, North found a happy grin lighting his features "These are so cool!" he exclaimed "We could totally have a part of the show in San Francisco when we turn the light off, and just have our instruments glowing!"

"Yeah!" Aster nodded enthusiastically "Like those blue fellers in Vegas!"

"Sounds awesome to me," Jack laughed before his face suddenly turned sober "but can we afford them?"

Aster looked at the prices carefully, and then pursed his lips in thought "We should, but first we need ta see how we can make Toothy's piano and Sandman's DJ equipment light up."

"Let's find them," North beckoned as he turned and began to walk away "we can look for the other stuff with them."

"Go ahead," Jack said with a vague wave of his hand "I'm trying to decide on a color."

"Sounds good," Aster nodded "we'll meet ya upstairs at the Piano and DJ sections of the store."

"Right," the boy nodded absently his mind completely on the drumsticks in front of him.

Jack stood there for a good twenty minutes, debating between neon green, and electric blue. He loved the blue, but the green was so fun, even though green would probably be a better color for Aster. North could have red, and they could give Tooth hot pink. Sandy would probably get bright yellow. Jack nodded to himself, yeah, those colors would work best for everyone. Plus he liked the blue, it went with his eyes, and blue was his favorite color anyway. Heaving a sigh, the boy flopped onto a nearby bean bag chair as he took two brands of light up drumsticks, debating which one he should go with when a shadow loomed over him. Looking up, Jack felt his face twist in disgust at who was looking down on him.

"Hiya Pitch," Jack sneered.

"Hello Jack," the smirked "how's things?"

"Oh you know," Jack shrugged "kickin' butt, climbing to the top, and on our way to playing a concert in LA."

"Yeah," Pitch smiled maliciously "about that, you see, I have a favor to ask."

"What," Jack scoffed as he stood up and put both hands in his hoodie pouch "You want us to help you play there with us? Sorry dude, but we worked our butts off to get there, and you can bet we're not planning on helping you."

"Oh but I think _you_ will," Pitch lowered his voice to a menacing whisper "because I think I can convince you to mess up your act and ruin your chances of LA, ultimately putting me in the slot for that show."

"And what could you possibly do to convince me to do that?" Jack snarled his eyes darkening with anger at what Pitch was even thinking of trying to accomplish.

"That's the easy part," the dark man said in a sing song whisper as if he were addressing a small child "if you don't do what I ask, then all I have to do is call the cops and tell them that you guys are secretly terrorists."

"WHAT?!" Jacks shout drew the attention of nearby customers causing Pitch to snarl at the boy dragging him behind a shelf of drum equipment, roughly shoving him up against the wall.

"You can't do that!" Jack protested in a harsh whisper "For one thing, we're not. And for another, no one would believe that we ARE!"

"Oh please," Pitch sighed in strained tolerance "one third of your little group is immigrants, including your brother. Plus you're a traveling rock band, and your name is Epic Chaos, at the very least they would investigate you, ruining all your chances to be a music group together, and at the very worst…they deport your brother and that Aussie idiot."

"But you don't have any proof to verify your claim." Jack snarled.

"As if that wouldn't be easy to do?" Pitch smirked "It doesn't take much for someone with my connections and backstage access to orchestrate a little 'epic chaos' to prove you're a danger to society."

Jack face paled as he thought about it but he quickly strengthened his resolve "We could prove you did it, that it was your plan!"

"That's highly unlikely," Pitch said leaning in close roughly grabbing Jack and slamming him against the wall "and even if you could, the simple fact is that the agency would still drop you for being too much of a nuisance and all your hopes and dreams would still be flushed down the drain, and I would gladly go to prison if I could see that."

"Wouldn't be the first time, right Pitch?" Jack snapped.

Pitch felt his eyes narrow, and he punched Jack in the stomach, leaving the boy in a huddled gasping mass on the floor "You tell anyone about what I told you," he said turning around with a sneer "and I'll make the call anyway. It's up to you."

Jack watched Pitch leave through angry eyes, but inside he was shaking. How was he going to keep his family safe from Pitch's insanity?

…

"This is SO COOL!" Tooth gushed as she looked at the electric LED lights she was going to decorate her piano with "Our act is going to ROCK!"

"No kiddin'!" Aster crowed as he began to string his guitar with the light up strings "Imagine it, all the lights go off, and then there's just us, rockin' out and havin' ourselves a good time!"

"_We should have explosions and fireworks!"_ Sandy signed.

"That sounds like fun!" North agreed "But only at the end of our act, fireworks and having a segment with only our instruments lit up would not mix."

"True," Aster nodded "ok, so we have the last song be our finale piece, right? Where one part we have a segment with each of us gettin' a solo with our instruments lit up, and after the solos we all come back together with strobe lights in the dark, and end the whole thing with fireworks, and explosions on the stage!"

"That sounds so amazing," Tooth said with starry eyes as she grabbed Aster's arm and shook it with excitement.

"What do you think Jack?" North asked turning to his younger brother only to see him staring out the window with a dejected look of misery on his face "Jack?"

"Huh?" the pale boy was snapped from his thoughts and back to the dinner table "Yeah, sounds great."

"Didja even hear what we said?" aster asked with one suspicious eyebrow raised.

"Yeah," Jack nodded "explosions, and each of us get a…solo."

His voice trailed off at the last word as he began to worry his bottom lip with his teeth, causing North to lean forward and press a hand to his brother's head. The older brother pursed his lips in thought when he felt no fever, and he leaned back to scrutinize his younger sibling.

"Jack, what's wrong?"

Panic shot through the boy's brain as painful as a bullet and he immediately backpedaled, waving his hands defensively "Nothing!" he chuckled weakly "Just nervous about the San Francisco show…that's all, I promise!"

Aster reached over, and gripped Jack's wrist in one hand, quickly checking his pulse "Your blood pressure seems a bit high," he murmured "maybe all this talk about the show and LA is just stressin' ya out?"

"Uh..yeah!" Jack breathed as his heart broke over the enormous secret he was keeping "I just need to lay down, and clear my head, I'll be fine by morning."

"Ok," North sighed ruffling Jack's head and pressing a kiss to his temple "I want you to drink a glass of water before going to bed, ok? I'm going to check so don't even think of cheating."

"I will," Jack nodded.

"Good," the older brother gazed on his brother with worried eyes "get some sleep."

Jack smiled weakly at his brother and family before turning around "Hey Jack," the boy paused at Aster's voice.

"Yeah?"

"Take care of yerself mate," the Aussie said with concerned eyes, his scolding words softened by affection "we don't want ya ta get too stressed out and go inta a seizure or a panic attack. Drink lots of water, and if we hafta, we'll take care of planning for San Francisco, kay?"

Jack nodded, his heart plummeting to the depths of his stomach as he half heartedly prepared a glass of water. He wanted to help them plan the San Francisco show, and he didn't want them to be worried about them. This whole mess only made Jack more and more miserable with every second he held the secret within his heart. Drinking the glass dry, the boy crawled into bed, his heart tightening as his throat constricted. He could hear their whispering, and could practically still feel the worried glances they were throwing in his direction. What could he do?

Jack lay in bed, wiping tears from his eyes and he silently cried himself to sleep, the pain of a broken heart that was stabbed with needles of fear throbbing in his chest.

**I know, not the longest chapter, but I truly felt that this was the best way to close out this chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it!**

***hands you chocolate as a bribe* REVIEW!**


	66. Visions3

**Ok, for those of you who did not catch it, I have a specific roster that I will be using until the arcs are completed. I will update in THIS ORDER…Visions, Toddler Bunny, Pitch's Passion, and finally Epikaos.**

**That will be the order of updates, and I'm going to keep it that way so to make sure that I do not procrastinate on any of them. Okeydokey?**

**So that being said, HERE IS VISIONS!**

Far away in a castle that once glistened brightly in the sun, but now sat in dilapidated ruin, a lone spirit wandered now darkened halls, scraggly red hair flowing down her back in knotted gnarled waves. Her robe, once beautifully white accented by holly embroidered in gold thread, now hung on a bony frame in a tattered dingy mess. Wilted holly and mistletoe sat atop her head, barely resembling its former glory as a tiara. This woman, a mere shadow of what she once was, stumbled through the halls of her home, her face scrunched in despair and disgust at the many heirlooms connecting her to her past.

Wandering into her personal study, now dank with decay and covered in cobwebs, she approached one of the many pictures hanging on the wall and slammed her fist into the face painted on the canvas.

"It's your fault," she whispered brokenly here green eyes teetering on the edge of madness "it is your entire fault that I am this way…useless…broken…forgotten…All your fault."

Digging her nails into the fabric, she dragged them down, clawing at the oil, chipping away the features of the man she despised, no, the man she HATED. Suddenly the spirit found that clawing his face wasn't enough, no, she wanted more. She wanted to destroy him completely. Grabbing a letter opener, she plunged the blade into the picture, her voice a delirious shriek of laughter with each stab, but even that was not enough.

"NO!" she snarled throwing the blade down in disgust "It is not enough!"

Looking back at the canvas, despite its abuse still containing the gleaming smile of her nemesis, and a shudder rocked her frame. Too long she had been sitting in the shadows dreaming of what harm could, and should, befall the man. No, she needed to defy her nature, defy her fate, and become something different, something that could claim retribution for the wrongs wrought against her by the evil that was that horrible man. Soft laughter wrack her frame as she began to rock back and forth, her eyes wide with the insanity devouring her from the inside out. Oh yes, she should just take from him what he took from her. Leave him in a ruin of a castle, wandering aimlessly with nowhere to go, and no one to believe in him.

The laughter grew, becoming increasingly more dark and menacing, until it was a cackle that screamed the madness that had taken her in its jaws and swallowed her mind in one gulp. Flames grew around her, and the once tattered robe fixed itself, turning a bloody shade of red, and the holly that had been embroidered so beautifully in gold on its folds now darkened and gained jagged edges, turning into black thorns. The tiara wilted completely and was replaced by a jagged obsidian crown. Her nails turned black, and grew to sharpened points, and finally the transformation was complete.

"Just wait," she hissed shredding the picture with her new nails watching it catch flame and smolder "I will get my revenge…and Christmas will officially be…_canceled_."

….

"Oi Jack," Bunny called chasing after the winter spirit.

The boy didn't turn, merely kept flying, and Aster pursed his lips in irritation as he put on an extra burst of speed. "JACK!"

Jack snapped from his thoughts, looking down to see Bunny running him down, and heaved a sigh as he floated down to stand on the snow covered ground "Hey Aster," he smiled wearily.

"Hey," Bunny panted as he sat on his haunches to catch his breath "where've ya been Frostbite? It's been over two weeks since I last saw ya, and ya missed the last couple a meetin's, plus yer avoidin' everyone. It's just…It's not like ya ta do those things anymore kid."

"What's your point Bunny," Jack sighed with fatigue his shoulders deflating with the exhale.

"My point is, Jackie," the rabbit continued placing his paws on the boy's shoulders and bending down so he could look the boy in the eye so to better convey the emotion behind his words, and barely holding back a wince from the bloodshot blue eyes that greeted him with huge black bags hanging beneath them "we're worried about ya, and we wish ya would let us help ya with whatever it is that's makin' ya run away from us and skip out on the Guardian Meetin's."

Jack bit his lip, feeling his chin wrinkle as his bottom lip began to quiver on its own accord. He wanted to tell them so badly, wanted to spill his guts and let them help him, but the rules were hard enough to explain much less follow precisely so to avoid mass death, and Jack just couldn't take the chance. Looking up and meeting Bunny's gaze, Jack felt hot tears sting his eyes and begin to roll down his cheeks in waves as he began to breathe heavily, almost hyperventilating from the amount of agony stabbing his heart.

"I-I…" he began his voice a choked sob as his shoulders trembled and convulsed "I'm so sorry Bunny…but…" Jack bit his lip before choking out "but I _can't_."

Turning around, Jack wrenched him away from the comforting strength of his older brother that he so wanted to fall into, and flew into the sky, his tears turning to snowflakes and falling on the Pooka standing beneath. Bunny braced his elbows on his knees, and buried his face in his paws, gritting his teeth against the agonized snarl of aggravation that was fighting its way up his throat. He had made a promise to the other Guardians that he would leave Jack alone, that if that was what it took, then that was what he would do. But the Pooka had no idea just how painful sitting on your thumbs and doing nothing was. He wanted to help Jack, to give his baby brother a big hug, and let him know that he wasn't going to suffer alone. But he couldn't, not without endangering Jack and quite possibly their own future, and it made Bunny want to scream and throw rabbit punches at the closest tree until he reduced it to sawdust.

"Bunny," a voice spoke behind him "if you stay like that for much longer, you're going to get stuck in that position and then where will you be?"

Aster's green eyes flew open as he popped up and turned around in one swift movement "Pitch!" he practically yelled.

"Well done," the specter clapped his hands sarcastically "thank you captain obvious for reminding me of my own identity."

"I-I was talkin' ta Jack," Aster stammered his voice choked with concern and sorrow.

"Yes, I know," Pitch sighed as he took in Bunny's own disheveled appearance with concern and the hurt overflowing from the rabbit's eyes making his center flicker in and out "and if you know what is good for you, and want to keep your center from disappearing entirely, I think it best that you stay out of it."

"You know I can't do that," the rabbit whispered harshly closing his eyes as if in pain "Jackie…he's…he's like a brother ta me, and I can't just stand by and let him go through this, whatever _this_ is, alone…I just can't."

Pitch groaned massaging his temples with two index fingers before once again meeting Aster's tortured gaze "You need to, for your sake, and his, not to mention the countless millions that could die should he fail."

Bunny shoulders deflated as he fell to all fours, feeling the wracking sobs begin to shake him as he processed Pitch's words. The Boogeyman gazed on the Pooka, his golden eyes soft with pity, before he turned to walk away, but was stopped by Bunny's voice.

"Please," he whispered, his voice broken and his shattered heart evident in every syllable "Please tell me…I can keep it from the other Guardians if I need ta, but I need to know if I can help…anythin' other than this wretched waitin' for Jack to come to us himself."

"What makes you think that I know anything?" Pitch stated simply his back still to the forlorn rabbit.

"Because you're the Nightmare King!" Bunny finally shouted pounding the frost covered ground with a fist "So that means that you've seen his vision, and know what it is!"

"And if I did," Pitch answered slowly his voice soft as he began to cave and considered telling the Easter spirit "what reason do you have that would qualify you to be let in on the secret?"

Bunny paused gathering his wits through his grief fogged brain, long enough for Pitch to begin walking again, only to once more be stopped by the rabbit's desperate cry "I know the rules!"

"You know the rules-How?" the dark man sputtered turning to face his former enemy.

"Jack told me," Bunny gasped his eyes wide with panic and hope that Pitch would grant him mercy by telling him "and I was there…when the prophecy was first spoken, I know it!"

"But Bunny, that doesn't mean-" the Boogeyman began only to be cut off.

"When the Moon weeps," Aster interrupted as desperate tears began to fall from his eyes "bells will toll as a shooting star falls never to rise again, the bond will break and darkness will fall."

"Bunny, that's not-"

"PLEASE!" The Pooka begged in a broken sob as he curled up in a weeping ball of fur shaking in grief "I know the rules…" he said in a hoarse whisper rocking back and forth "I know the rules…so please…_please_…"

Pitch grit his teeth and closed his eyes at the sheer amount of pain radiating from the spirit and finally walked over to the rabbit, kneeling down and placing a gray hand on one furry shoulder "The vision," he began softly feeling Bunny tense beneath his fingers "it simply means that on the next blue moon, North will die, the Guardians will disperse and the world will fall into darkness."

"Blue moon," Bunny murmured as he processed the words "'when the moon weeps', o' course, it means the blue moon. And North's sleigh, its covered in bells, so they would ring if it were ta fall from the sky."

"Exactly," Pitch nodded "so you see, we must save North without changing the prophecy, at all. It is a matter of supreme delicacy, and to tell the Guardians or North, would be risking either his life, or the life of all those that will die to fulfill the debt owed to death and fate."

"Oh Manny," Aster groaned "that's…that's almost impossible."

"Now you know why I didn't want to tell you," Pitch sighed sitting on the ground in front of the rabbit and placing his chin on a weary fist "the whole thing is making Jack sick with worry, and I honestly don't know how to help."

"Well you are helping in my opinion," Bunny sniffled rubbing his nose with one paw "tryin' ta be there for Jack when we can't, that's helpin'."

"Maybe," Pitch shrugged unhappily "but it doesn't really help Jack in the way he needs."

The rabbit stood up, bracing himself against one tree as a wave of dizziness struck him from his emotional outburst not even ten minutes ago "…Pitch…" he said gruffly not daring to look at the man sitting on the ground next to him "I…uh…I know that just three years ago, we were practically still enemies, but…I'm glad that we're not anymore…that you're an ally…I'm glad for that."

The Boogeyman regarded Bunny's profile for a few moments, a new but not unwelcome emotion of gratitude and friendship towards the spirit, one that had only begun to develop over the past few years and was still unnerving in the strength it made him feel, gathered in his chest. But Pitch was not like Bunny, whom had been forced to acknowledge his emotional side long before their still growing friendship began to bud, he was still firmly in denial over having 'touchy feely' talks. So with a resigned sigh, and what he hoped was a semi convincing scoff of disgust towards the emotional display, the Boogeyman waved the rabbit's comment away.

"Be careful rabbit," he sneered "or people will stop believing you're as tough as you say you are."

Bunny gave a short laugh, as he wiped his eyes and squared his shoulders "I guess I'm gonna go back ta my warren and see about how we can save North without changin' the prophecy."

"Fine," Pitch nodded "I will be doing the same thing, and Bunny…?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't." Pitch whispered menacingly "Do not. Tell. North. Or any of the other Guardians what you know, including Jack, and if you tell him I told you, I WILL denounce you as a liar."

Aster chuckled as he nodded "Agreed."

"Good," Pitch said with a short nod.

"…Wait…"

"What is it now, rabbit?" Pitch groaned.

"Sorry," Aster raised his paws as he winced "just one last question…"

"Fine, shoot." The specter growled his head hanging back as his arms dangled at his sides showing his supreme wish to get away from one particularly emotional Pooka.

"Why," Bunny said softly his voice hesitant "I mean…Why _did_ you…tell me?"

"I guess," Pitch answered slowly as he allowed the shadows to come up around him and draw him into their depths "because you're the Guardian of Hope, and if we need anything right now, we need _that_."

Watching Pitch disappear, Aster finally felt a small spark of Hope warm his chest. Things looked bad, to be sure, but North could be saved and would be saved. All they needed was to keep hoping, and never stop looking for the winning answer. With that thought motivating him, the rabbit tapped the ground and began the journey home, his heart thrumming with determination to help Jack in any way he could.

**How is that? To anyone who wants to bug me over Bunny being too OOC, I SAID that this arc was going to be crazy angsty, and think about the situation, they are all stressed out so I think Bunny would be a little high strung after two weeks of not knowing what is going on with his little brother.**

**As always, please REVIEW! *free hugs to all reviewers!***


	67. Toddler Bunny3

**UP NEXT….TODDLER BUNNY!**

**As a little disclaimer for this chapter, this is taking place three years after Pitch attacked…Pitch's Passion takes place FIVE years after he attacks. So whatever happens in this chapter is BEFORE Pitch's Passion and the Visions arc.**

**I do not own ROTG…ENJOY!**

Jack slept, a ball of fur clinging to the front of his shirt, with the soft sounds of Bunny sucking his thumb every few minutes before pausing and snuggling up to Jack with a small sigh. The winter spirit unconsciously raised a pale hand, petting the little Pooka's head, and tucking him beneath his chin as he drew him in closer. Aster didn't complain, but merely stuck his twitching nose in the crook of Jack's neck, his thumb still firmly stuck in his mouth. The furry nose tickled the sensitive skin on the sprite's neck, causing Jack's face to scrunch as he slowly came back to consciousness, his blue eyes fluttering open as he blearily looked around and gained his bearings.

"B-Bunny," Jack rasped as he looked down and saw the rabbit still asleep in his arms.

A sleepy smile quirked his mouth and Jack settled back down, closing his eyes so to go to sleep but a voice came from the corner jolting Jack back into wakefulness.

"They're so adorable at that age."

Blue eyes flew back open, and Jack sat up, looking across the room to see the Boogeyman melting out of the shadows "Pitch," Jack said calmly his arms tightening around the snoring toddler in his arms.

"Jack," the specter smiled menacingly "it's good to see you now that I'm free to leave my caves again."

"Yeah," Jack shrugged "though I was kinda hoping that you would leave us alone and just focus on doing your job."

"Oh but I _am_ doing my job," Pitch cooed as he smiled at the child sleeping in Jack's arms "you know, I wonder if Bunny even knows that he sucks his thumb?"

"You," Jack growled shielding the little Pooka from Pitch "are not giving Aster _any_ nightmares!"

"But you said you wanted me to do my job," the dark man sighed theatrically "and Guardian or not, Aster is a child again, leaving him in the territory of where I'm allowed to work."

"But why?" Jack groaned "I mean, you picked on him last year by turning him human, and now this year he's a kit! Can't you just give him a pass considering his fear was what freed you last year from your caves, huh?"

Pitch hesitated, his arms crossing as he considered Jack's proposal. Truth be told, this was the first time any of the Guardians actually tried negotiating with him, and it was certainly a first when one of the Guardians didn't even get mad at him for what was surely his job. Here was Jack Frost, Guardian of Fun, asking him to give Bunny a free pass this time in deference to the fact that his fear from being stuck human was what had freed Pitch from his imprisonment, and to be quite honest, Pitch actually almost agreed. Heaving a sigh, the Boogeyman nodded his head, waving one hand dismissively.

"Fine," he almost hissed "you win, I'll give it a rest this time. I'm sure the next one hundred years will pass by quickly anyway, that is one perk of being immortal, so I will enjoy giving the child nightmares next equinox."

Jack's jaw fell in shock before stretching into a wide grin "Thanks Pitch"

The Boogeyman rolled his eyes "Don't get used to it," he snarled "I only agreed because what you said made mild sense…not that I enjoy agreeing with the likes of you."

"Whatever," Jack shrugged with a yawn "I don't care what you're reasoning is or even your emotions concerning it, just as long as you agree. Now leave…I wanna get back to sleep before energizer Bunny wakes up and terrorizes the workshop again."

Pitch couldn't hold back a snort at the new nickname for the rabbit and paused in his leaving "A small warning" he smirked "Bunny has a tendency of hiding things, but that's not the worst of it. I suggest you watch your back, because the kid should be discovering his powers soon."

"What do you mean?" Jack asked one eyebrow rising with confusion as he struggled to keep his eyes open "Like Bunny is scary while…" Jack let out a yawn "while painting eggs?"

Pitch barked out a laugh "You have no idea what's coming your way."

With that, the specter disappeared, leaving Jack alone to ponder the cryptic warning left to him by the unlikeliest of sources.

…

"ASTERRRR!" Jack screamed at the top of his lungs "WHERE IS MY STAFF?!"

A delighted giggled echoed behind him, causing Jack to whirl around and glare sternly at the three foot tall toddler. Bunny shrugged, a mischievous smile on his face "I don't know" he sang "ya have ta find it, that's the rules."

"No," Jack yelled "I am not playing some childish version of Easter with a munchkin Bunny!"

"Easter?" Aster said cocking his head curiously "What's that?"

"Easter is…Easter," Jack said with a vague wave of his hand as he struggled to construct a reasonable answer "Easter is when the Easter Bunny travels all over the world, and hides trillions of eggs he painted for kids to find, and gives them Easter baskets full of candy."

Jack looked down, suddenly thinking that he had made a huge mistake in telling the kit, because Aster's eyes were wide and a large smile had already worked its way onto his face "That," Bunny said softly as his little paws waved around wildly " That…is SO COOL!"

"Oh Manny," Jack sighed as he got a sinking feeling in his stomach "Aster…that wasn't an invitation."

"I don't know what an…investation is," Bunny giggled bouncing up and down excitedly "but I wanna play more Easter!"

The winter spirit sighed, hanging his head "I thought you might."

"Please?" the little rabbit tugged on Jack's sleeve putting on a pouty puppy dog face that rivaled Jack's kicked puppy look "Please, please, please, PLEEEAAAASE?"

"FIIINE!" Jack groaned "We can play Easter."

"YAY!" Bunny squealed as he started shaking his little tail in a dance while jumping up and down before grabbing the sprite by the wrist "Come on, I get ta be the Easter Bunny, and yer the kid!"

"But I'm already looking for my staff…that YOU stole!" Jack whined.

"That's part of Easter!" Bunny laughed as he dragged Jack back into the living room.

"Oh great," the winter spirit sighed "you just found out what Easter is, and you already know all about it."

"JAAAACK!" Bunny whined stomping his little foot "Stop being such a poopy pants, and play!"

"I'm playing, I'm playing!" Jack held up his hands defensively.

"No you're not," the little bunny pouted his ears drooping "you're being a poopy pants, and NO fun!"

Jack winced at the rabbit's accusation, and finally caved "Alright little guy," he smiled "let's play Easter, ok?"

"Good!" Aster grinned hugging the winter spirit's leg "I love you Jack."

Once again Jack found himself helpless against the adorableness of the little rabbit "And this," he growled as he knelt down and picked Aster up "is why I can't stay made at you."

"I know," the bunny nodded happily giving Jack a small kiss on the cheek before squirming out of his arms and running across the floor "Now let's play Easter!"

"This also explains why no one else can stay mad at you," the winter sprite sighed with amusement "even when you're your usual size everyone lets you get away with stuff. Maybe I should just get turned into a kid for a few weeks and see if that helps ME any."

Aster looked up at him, his nose twitching as he looked Jack up and down before shaking his head "Nope," he chirped "you're not cute and fluffy like me."

"Well thank you for that," Jack laughed at the honest appraisal "I'll be sure to keep in that in mind."

For the nest three hours, Jack played Easter, keeping one eye out for his staff, all the while baby Aster was having the time of his life hiding various objects and telling Jack to look for them. The winter spirit kept up with the rabbit pretty well, but somehow Pitch's words kept floating back to him about Bunny discovering his powers. What did that even mean?

"Hey Jack!" a small voice suddenly squealed.

"What is it, little guy?" Jack turned around with a tired smile only to have it disappear completely from his face to be replaced by a look of abject horror.

"Look what I can do!"

…..

"North!" Tooth exclaimed waving happily as she and Sandy floated through the window and landing in front of the globe beside North "We are almost done at the Warren, and all that's left is the organizing of the eggs and such."

"Wonderful!" The large man laughed happily "You have both done good work, and while you are doing your jobs tonight, I will be at Warren finishing up."

Sandy created a gold light bulb, and then tugged on North's sleeve garnering his attention. Dream sand whirled around his head, as he made a snowflake, an egg, and a question mark.

North quickly surmised the meaning "How is Jack, and Bunny?" he asked.

Sandy nodded his head, and Tooth chipped in as well "Yeah," she said "I feel bad leaving Jack to do most of the babysitting while we prepare the Warren for Easter."

"Do not worry, Jack is doing fine." North laughed with a wave of his hand "In fact, he even kept Pitch from giving Bunny nightmares last night."

"He did?" Tooth's jaw fell open in shock.

"Yes!" North replied enthusiastically.

Sandy flew up to North waving his arms as question marks flew over his head and multiplied by a hundred with each second.

"Apparently he talked to Pitch," the large man shrugged.

"He…_talked_ to him?!" The fairy asked incredulously.

"Yes, he _talked_ to the Boogeyman," North said with a disbelieving chuckle "and not only did Pitch listen, but he agreed to not give Bunny nightmares this equinox."

"That's…" Tooth spluttered while Sandy sat in slack jawed shock behind her "That's just…unbelievable."

"Believable or no," Santa shrugged "Jack showed us that maybe Pitch is not…all bad."

The fairy shook her head, exchanging smiles with the Sandman "I guess," she said slowly "I guess that is just one more way that Jack helps improve us, and teaches us a new lesson."

"Agreed," North nodded "Jack is very precious member of team, one we should never have ignored or isolated."

Tooth's wings drooped at the reminder of their mistake and Sandy placed a hand on her shoulder, silently offering comfort "I'm glad though," the fairy murmured slowly tipping her head up to smile at the two Guardians "I'm glad we have the chance to make it up to Jack."

North smiled warmly, placing his hand over Sandy's on Tooth's shoulder "So am I."

Tooth smiled, then gave a small cough "So," she said "how's Jack holding up with watching Bunny? I mean, it's been a while, but I remember that Bunny isn't the easiest kid to handle."

"Last I checked he was fine," North shrugged.

Suddenly ran out into the workshop, his hands out in front of him as his mouth hung open with a loud scream issuing from it "SOMEBODY GET THIS THING AWAY FROM ME!"

Not far behind him was a plant that had formerly been a pot of flowers, but now the flowers had teeth, and were chasing Jack through the workshop, crawling like a worm, dragging the pot behind it. Bunny came soon after, clapping his hands and giggling "Funny Jack!"

"I think he's handling himself pretty well," North smirked "don't you?"

Sandy rolled his eyes, and made a golden lasso while Tooth gave a short laugh "sure," she giggled "whatever you say North."

"Will you guys STOP TALKING," Jack screamed in the distance "and come HELP MEEEE!"

"Funny Jack, you're funny!"

**Oh boy, Bunny has some fun powers, don't he? So how do you like it thus far?**

**Let me know by REVIEWS!**


	68. Pitch's Passion7

**Alright, you guys asked for it, so ya got it, an off season featuring Pitch as Jack's unwilling pillow. ENJOY!**

Pitch wandered around his cavernous lair, gnawing on one thumbnail as he considered the way he had yelled at the Guardians and generally acted like a person who had lost all semblance of sanity. No doubt they were thinking the very worst about him right now. Pitch paused, where had that thought come from? He didn't care about how they perceived him, especially when he knew precisely what they thought of him, so where on earth did this sudden concern over how the Guardians saw him originate from? Pitch gave an annoyed growl, rationalizing it as not so much concern over their opinion, as it was acting like an immature drama queen in public. Yes, he knew that he had emotional and mental issues, but not even he could have predicted that he would burst in such a manner in front of…them.

With a groan of inner turmoil, the dark man kicked a rock hard against the stone wall of his home, only to have it bounce off and ricochet right into his head. A startled yelp of pain echoed throughout the cavern, and Pitch heaved a resigned sigh. This was it, his life, and it was never going to get better. He was not Valjean who worked his way from being a hopeless criminal to hero, and he was not the Phantom who went from murderer to merciful ally, and he was most definitely not Collin trapped in darkness only to find his first true friends in his entire life and learn that there was strength and sunlight if he only tried to reach for it.

Sitting on the ground, Pitch fell backwards and lay on his back, fully intent on wallowing in his personal misery and attempting to forget about the irritatingly enjoyable outing he had had with the Guardians. But that too was tragically cut short when he was interrupted by one of his Nightmares running to alert him of something outside his lair. The Boogeyman sent a snarl to his subordinate, scaring it away, before heaving a sigh and going to the entrance of his home to check on what was causing the fuss. He expected a few things, and that dimwit Chikashi had been one of them, but he did not expect to see Jack Frost.

The frost child lay outside his lair, curled up against his staff, his face scrunched in distress even as he snored in blissful slumber. Pitch bent his knees, balancing in the balls of his feet, and knelt down next to the boy, his face dark and pensive. With a sigh of bored tolerance, the dark man reached out and poked Jack with one gray finger, attempting to wake the child and knowing full well that this was Jack's hibernation cycle and he needed to get somewhere considerably colder soon.

"Jack," he muttered unhappily his chin resting on his fist as he continued to poke the pale form "Jack wake up…you are not sleeping outside of my lair…Jack…JACK!"

The boy mumbled something incoherent in his sleep before bleary blue eyes looked up at Pitch. A soft smile rocked the man to his core, and pale hands captured his arm, cuddling it close.

"WHAT?!" Pitch shrieked stumbling backwards and shaking his arm "Get OFF me! Jack, LET GO!"

But the frost child couldn't, or wouldn't, comply but merely hugged the limb closer. Pitch screamed as he ran around the clearing, dragging the winter spirit behind him "SO COOOOOLD!" was the cry before he finally stopped and turned around. Panting for air, he placed one foot on Jack's head, and pushed the spirit hoping to detach him, and it worked…for only a second.

With a speed that was terrifying at best, Jack had slithered across the ground, and grabbed onto Pitch's leg "MINE!"

"No!" Pitch snarled waving his leg around "Bad Jack! Let go of me RIGHT NOW!"

"Mine…" Jack said with a stubborn pout clinging ever tighter to Pitch.

The Boogeyman threw up his hands, screaming to the clouds "MY LEG DOES NOT BELONG TO YOU!"

…

"Whattaya mean Jack ESCAPED?!" Bunny bellowed.

"He was in room," North replied waving his hands "and then he wasn't, yetis are still trying to find how he escaped!"

"But wait," Tooth cried "I thought YOU brought him back to the Pole?! Why isn't he clinging to you or following you around?"

"I don't know!" North shouted "I'm still trying to figure out!"

Suddenly Bunny paused as a thought popped up in his head "Wait a second," he muttered "frostbite gets attached ta whoever touches him first when he falls inta his hibernation cycle, right?"

"Right," the fairy and Russian both nodded.

"Then," Bunny continued slowly "who was he touchin' before ya got ta him at the theatre?"

North and Tooth contemplated the question before all three's jaws fell open in shock "Pitch."

Bunny felt snickers crawl up his throat, and the warrior rabbit gave a harsh cough as he tried to dispel them "Oh…" he squeaked as his eyes began to tear up from the guffaws started to jolt his frame "is that all?"

Tooth felt her shoulders convulse with the laughter she was so desperately trying to keep in check, but a very unladylike snort burst from her lips, and her hand flew to her mouth as she struggled to stifle even more giggles "P-Pitch…" she gasped "Jack went t-to go find…PITCH!"

Soon all three Guardians were laughing uproariously at the image that they had grown quite used to during the summer months, only this time featuring Pitch as the caretaker. Aster wiped away the tears streaming down his face as he giggled like a maniac over it "Pitch is gonna…" he panted "get the surprise of his life!"

"We should probably go rescue," North chuckled having had to sit down from the laughter weakening his poor legs.

"No kidding," Tooth hooted "Pitch wouldn't know what to do!"

Aster straightened up, his nose twitching as an evil grin lit up his features "Nah," he whispered menacingly "I say we wait ta see how long it takes Pitch ta get here."

"But what if Sweet Tooth doesn't find him, and is overheating somewhere?" Tooth replied as her laughter died down.

"A good point," Bunny nodded "but I don't think that should be a problem. Jackie is pretty good at findin' what he's lookin' for, even when he's practically asleep, and I bet within the next couple of hours Pitch is gonna come waltzing in here screaming-"

"GET THIS THING OFF MY LEG!"

"Yeah," the rabbit nodded with a smile "that's exactly what he'd say…wait…"

Turning around, the bunny saw the Boogeyman himself standing behind them, his face wreathed in agitated fury, and one long finger pointing accusingly at the winter child who was still happily attached to said appendage. The Guardians lasted maybe two seconds before bursting into another round of uncontrollable laughter, causing the dark man's right eye to twitch like crazy before he stomped the foot not currently being weighed down by a sleep winter child.

"THIS ISN'T FUNNY!" he bellowed.

"Actually," Aster snickered "it is mate."

"No," Pitch hissed dangerously once again pointing down at Jack "it. ISN'T. Now help me make the brat let go!"

Bunny walked over, bending so to sit on his haunches, and swatted the finger away. "Watch carefully," the rabbit said with an air of authority.

Reaching down, Aster softly began to pet Jack's head, gently running his paws through the snowy white hair. Jack let out a blissful sigh, a soft smile lighting his face, and gradually loosened his hold. Finally his pale hands let go, and Bunny picked the child up, cuddling him close and holding him against his chest. But the rabbit quickly noticed that, though Jack snuggled into his fur, his bottom lip quickly poked out in a pout of dissatisfaction. Bunny, though soft and comforting, was not the pillow he had started out with. Standing up with Jack on his hip, the Pooka cast a snarky grin at the Boogeyman.

"Ya see, mate," he snickered "the only way Frostbite lets go is if ya show him some attention, the more ya fight and scream, the tighter he hangs on."

"Well thank you for that information," Pitch snarled all too aware of how the Guardians were looking at him with wolfish grins full of evil intent "but I assure you, I won't need it as I will be avoiding him from this moment on."

Turning around, Pitch prepared to melt away back to his lair, but was stopped by Toothiana's musical laugh "Not so fast, Pitchiner," She chuckled "you are not going anywhere."

"Says who?" the dark man sighed.

Suddenly a small whimper came from Bunny's arms, and a flash of blue and white squirmed from his hold and latched onto Pitch around his waist. North let out a large guffaw "Says him, apparently," the large man laughed gaily.

"JACK!" Pitch bellowed as he pushed and thrashed struggling to free himself from the winter sprite's grasp "GET OFF!"

Jack firmly shook his head clutching the bony frame closer "MINE!"

"Ah," Bunny laughed "sorry mate, but you're not getting' away any time soon."

"And just what makes you think that, rabbit?!" Pitch sneered as he continued his struggle to detach himself.

"Simple," Aster grinned "Jack's entered the 'Mine' phase, once he gets there, you'll be lucky ta get him off in under three weeks."

"THREE WEEKS?!"

The Guardians smiled, holding back the giggles as Pitch's shriek continued to reverberate around the workshop. "Yep," Tooth chirped her eyes twinkling with laughter "three weeks."

"How?!" Pitch gaped "WHY?!"

North shrugged "Jack has strange habit," he begins "which is whoever touches him first after he falls into hibernation he literally attaches himself to them for the entire hibernation cycle. Though once Jack has entered his 'Mine' phase, you will not be able to be alone even for a few minutes and so you are stuck for next three weeks."

"I have to live with…this…" the dark man spat in disgust "for a month?!"

"Just about," Bunny nodded.

"Don't worry Pitch," North said comfortingly patting Pitch on the shoulder "you stay here with us, yeah? We help you with Jack so you won't have to deal with him alone."

"I…Wha-…this is… NO!" Pitch stammered "I will not, CANNOT, live in the headquarters of my most hated enemies for a MONTH!"

"…Mine…" a sleepy voice interrupted the rant causing Pitch to glance down.

Wide blue eyes, unfocused and soft from sleep, looked up at him. The dark man felt his heart give an audible crack as the armor plating that he had erected around for so many centuries began to give way. A small pout pushed out a pale bottom lip, and the eyes welled with unshed tears "Stay," he whispered "please?"

Pitch looked away with a grimace as a strangled whine sounded from his throat and slowly grew to a snarl. Daring one more peek at the pleading blue eyes, Pitch found the last bits of resolve to stay away evaporate "Fine," he sighed.

"Don't worry mate," Bunny said clapping Pitch on the back "once ya get past the 'Mine' phase, it gets a whole lot easier."

Pitch merely rolled his eyes in answer.

….

The weeks began to blur together as Pitch took up residence at the Pole, at first avoiding the Guardians, and spending copious amounts in his guest room; but after Tooth had a long talk with the specter, using cookies and milk as a negotiating tool, Pitch eventually starting spending time around his so called enemies. Jack of course clung to him every second of the day, and once he finally felt secure enough that Pitch wouldn't leave him, eventually let go giving the Boogeyman short breaks during the day with Bunny or North babysitting the winter child, all in all though the Nightmare king found that it wasn't quite as bad as he had originally thought.

It was during the last week of Pitch's forced confinement that he actually broached this topic with another person. He and Bunny sat in the living room, each of them holding cards, while steaming mugs of hot chocolate sat on the table. They were playing a card game known as Hand and Foot, and they were currently tied in points, the last round of the game would decide who won and who had to help North with organizing the Christmas Naughty and Nice lists. Jack sat on the floor, his head resting against Pitch's thigh, breathy snores emanating from his slightly ajar mouth, every few seconds snuggling up to the Boogeyman with a small sigh of contentment. However, it being almost at the end of his hibernation cycle, Jack was slowly coming back to consciousness, and the first signs of him waking up were that he would get increasingly fussy in his sleep. A small whimper broke the comfortable silence of the card game, and Jack shifted in his sleep, his face scrunching in discomfort.

Pitch reached down, one hand unconsciously and without thought patting Jack's head calming him down through physical contact. Still looking at his cards Pitch sighed "I have a pathetic hand this round."

"Hmmm…" Bunny hummed in agreement, his green eyes narrow as he struggled to construct a decent move from his less than stellar cards. Taking a peek around his hand, Bunny found himself smiling fondly at Jack, and how Pitch was calming him without even thinking about what he was doing "Ta be honest," the rabbit said quietly "I'm kinda jealous."

"Why?" Pitch asked one eyebrow raised in incredulous curiosity "You don't know what cards I have."

"Not about the game," Bunny waved with one paw "that ya get ta be the one Jack is attached to this summer. I won't lie ta ya, we all enjoy our time with the kid, and summer is basically become our favorite season because the ankle biter's so cute this time of season, and even though my turn was last year, it's nice havin' the kid act like a clingy tyke and I kinda miss it."

Pitch regarded the rabbit as he thought about his words. Turning back to his hand, Pitch stared with unseeing eyes at his cards, his mind buzzing and whirring with what Bunny had said. Truth be told, he actually agreed with the rabbit. He had gone without physical touch for so long, it was strange having someone actually touching him through a hug, or merely leaning up against him, constantly. Plus Jack, when sleepy due to being in hibernation, gave affection without reservation or remorse. So there were times where he would crawl into Pitch's lap without warning, and rest his head on the dark man's shoulder, only to fall into blissful sleep. That was extremely odd, no one felt safe or comfortable enough to sleep near the Nightmare king, and the fact that the childlike behavior was downright adorable only made the situation more complicated.

"You," Pitch began slowly as he shuffled his cards around "you care about him, don't you."

"Well yeah," Bunny shrugged glaring at his cards "I admit I was pretty mean ta the ankle biter in the past, but we got past that and he's forgiven me, and now…the kid's like my baby brother. I can't imagine us without him."

Pitch pursed his lips, considering that statement "Jack should be waking any time now." He finally said casually "I will be taking my leave soon."

"I know," Bunny nodded "though I admit, I'll miss beatin' ya at cards, but I'm sure ya probably want ta enjoy about a month of peace and quiet by yerself without worrying about a certain ankle biter doing his best impression of an octopus."

Pitch snorted at the mental image realizing it was pretty accurate "Agreed, I will definitely need a little 'me time', after all this is over."

Finally realizing that there was no hope of a decent, much less intelligent, move, Pitch discarded and waited while Bunny took his turn. Another silence drew out between the two before Pitch opened his mouth again, his topaz eyes unsure as he slowly struggled to form the words on the tip of his tongue "You know," he practically whispered "it wasn't so bad…spending the summer here."

"Good," Bunny grunted "I would dare even say that we enjoyed yer company…especially Tooth."

This last comment was accompanied by the Pooka wiggling his eyebrows suggestively, insinuating the possibility of something more being there than anyone had given attention to. Pitch glared at the rabbit as he felt his cheeks heat up in a horrifyingly intense way. "Just take your turn already." He snarled.

Bunny discarded, waving his paw for Pitch to go ahead with his turn. The dark man pondered his cards as he drew two from the pile, and shuffled them into order.

"Ya know yer welcome here," Bunny said quietly as he reached down to gently run his hand through Jack's hair smiling at the way the boy curled into the caress "if ya ever want ta visit, we're more than willin' ta let the past be the past and bygones be bygones. We don't have ta stay enemies ya know, we could be fr-"

"Don't say friends," Pitch cut off "I can admit to our relationship undergoing a slight change, and even admit that I too am weary of the constant fighting between us, but I do not believe that we are even slightly at a level to consider what we have as being 'friends'."

"A'right," Bunny shrugged seeing that Pitch was willing to admit that he was changing for the better but still needed time "how about ally then?"

"The Nightmare King an ally to the Guardians?" Pitch asked incredulously "The idea is positively ludicrous."

"Hey, I'm tryin' my best here," Bunny growled "if you don't like ally, then what DO you want-"

"I never said I didn't like it," Pitch cut in "I just said the idea was ludicrous…your turn."

Bunny smirked as he drew two cards and began to take his turn "A'right, allies it is then."

"Fine," Pitch nodded "just don't call me 'mate'."

"Impossible," the rabbit grinned evilly.

"Oh I think it's highly possible," Pitch countered.

"Maybe," Aster shrugged "but at great personal risk ta me, because I'll have ta change the very way I speak."

"Not using the word 'mate' is at great personal risk to you?" the man said with barely concealed amusement.

"Yep."

Pitch shook his head "You're mentally unstable."

"Possibly," Aster laughed "but let's see how mentally stable _you_ are after being in this family for five years."

"Assuming our truce is still in effect," the Boogeyman answered with a wry grin.

"Deny all you want," the rabbit guffawed "but I don't even give it a year before ya start wonderin' how ya ever lived without us."

"Doubtful."

"Definite."

"…Shut up…"

**OMW Ok, so I decided to make this the next chapter of Pitch's Passion becaaauuuse EVERYONE WAS BEGGING FOR IT! I hope it was as good as ya'll hoped and dreamed it would be. I wish I could have done better, but you guys know me.**

**As always, please REVIEW because I want to know if this chapter was what you guys were hoping for. **


	69. Footprints in the Snow

**Here we go again with a little drabble that hit my brain with the force of a hammer…And then I told my close friend about it *cough* Firestorm1991 *cough* who used sly underhanded verbal techniques to persuade me into writing this for her.**

**So to Firestorm I hope you enjoy this as you recuperate from your knee surgery.**

**Hope the rest of you enjoy it!**

"So, what are you waiting for freak," a girl spat "let's see you dance."

Johanna stood in the snow barefoot, her toes already beginning the dull throb from being subjected to the cold, and wrapped her arms around herself in the attempt at keeping warm. Before her stood her fellow classmates in the dancing class she was taking, and she had recently moved to Burgess from Russia with her family. Now she knew what cold felt like, and to her credit, this winter was nothing like the cold that she experienced in her home land, but when you have no jacket and were standing barefoot in six inches of snow, even the strongest people would feel cold. Why was she standing there to begin with?

Due to being from Russia, the home of ballet, Johanna had been trained under the masters since she was four. Now at the age of sixteen, this young lady was extremely proficient at dance, mostly ballet, and now that they were in the states, she was interested in broadening her horizons in the art of dance by learning different styles. Now she was taking classes in Burgess and effectively showing up every dancer in her class, something the other girls did not take too kindly to. So here she was, enduring what the girls called 'initiation' into their class, which was dancing in the snow barefoot without messing up her routine.

Jack sat on the other side of the field, his face an unhappy pout as he watched the cruelty taking place next to his lake. He knew these girls, and knew that they had stopped being believers at young ages due to their dedication to the world of dance, but he also knew their cruelty. These girls were the jealous types. And Jack had seen them, and even all of their mothers years previous, do this exact same routine to any girl more talented than they in the efforts of driving them out of the school for dance. To be honest, the sprite was sick of their shenanigans, and he wished that they would stop. But the winter child knew that humans couldn't withstand the cold the way he could, and to force a girl to dance barefoot in the snow was cruel, and extremely difficult to accomplish. If only someone could show them up.

Suddenly smirking the boy blew into his hands, ice arcing between his fingertips as he created something from his past only recently remembered, a violin. Tired of listening to the spoiled brats of the city pick on one poor girl, he struck up a doleful tune, not expecting the result. Johanna felt her ears prick at a sound, and slowly she turned to look around, and saw nothing save the snow covered field, but she was sure that she heard the sound of someone playing a violin. Soft and slow, she bit her lip as she listened to the music, the voices of the girls fading away as she closed her eyes and leaned her head back so to hear the music more fully. Suddenly her feet were no longer throbbing, the wind was not as cutting, and her body ceased its trembling. Raising her arms, eyes still closed, the girl arched her back and raised her leg in a graceful pose before beginning her dance.

Jack watched the girl in interest, the fact that her movements were matching his melody perfectly not unnoticed, and sped up the tempo changing the tune into an almost Russian dervish a smile lighting his face as she too sped up matching his tune. Bending low, she swung around to bend backwards, one hand rising to the sky. Jack hopped off his tree, and darted forward, his footsteps matching hers as he danced alongside her, never stopping his playing. Both their bodies swaying with the music, a winter spirit, and a young woman of Russia danced the emotions in their hearts as they connected in a moment of pure joy.

Jack didn't speak, still shocked that she could hear him playing the violin, and merely danced around her, his pale feet kicking up snow as he played his very soul on his instrument. Johanna could feel his presence, she didn't know what it was, but she knew she wasn't alone. Part of her thought back to the old tales told around the fireplace about winter spirits who guarded the hearts of the pure and the strong. She had never regarded herself as either, but maybe because of her raising, she had always held a small modicum of belief that such things existed. Maybe it was why she could hear the mysterious music playing around her.

Suddenly the girls heart gave a leap of joy as she realized that for the first time since she came to America and had to fight tooth and nail to gain her place in the dance class, she was having fun doing what she loved most, she was having fun dancing in the snow. Now her feet no longer throbbed but actually felt warm, and the wind no longer bit her mercilessly but caressed her with touches as soft as an angel's wing. Throwing her head back, and grinning in a smile full of joyful abandon, the girl took a running start and leapt into the air, flying a full six feet up doing a graceful split in midair only to land on point and draw one leg up in a smooth pirouette. Jack felt their hearts connect, and suddenly he felt his center flare in an immense burst of light, completely engulfing him in its intensity.

The wind blew around them, Jack's entire body glowing with a bright white light until he seemed almost transparent, and he sighed in pleasure at the strange change taking place. Johanna spun, dipped, swayed, and jumped, her smile growing brighter as the very air seemed to dance in time with her footsteps. A warm light enveloped her, snowflakes began to fall, swirling around her form serving to only enhance the beauty of her dance. The air around her frame shimmered, and the girls watching her were no longer sneering, but stood in shocked awe as the girl they had reviled now seemed to resemble an angel sent from heaven touching earth in a moment of worship, using her entire body to wordlessly convey the joy she found in dance. Each snowflake seemed to glimmer in a multicolored swirl of light, and the sun reflected of her pale skin as her hair flowed down her back in glowing blond waves.

Arcing her hand towards the winter sun, the girl felt a feeling of nostalgia overtake her, and tears sprung to her eyes as she realized it was because she felt at home. Like she was dancing in the forests of Russia, and she was not surrounded by spoiled selfish girls who did not understand the true value of what it meant to use your body as an expression, a wordless conversation that connected hearts and bid the soul to fly. Whirling around, Johanna felt her world slow down, almost as if time stood still, and she caught sight of a young boy in shimmering clothes. Snowy white hair capped an impish face with gleaming blue eyes. A violin made of ice sung under his experienced hands, and for just a moment, the two looked at each other each reveling in the moment that they shared, memorizing it and tucking it deep within their hearts.

Reaching out with her hand, Johanna stretched her slender fingers towards the shining boy, and he too reached towards her, and for a moment, their fingers intertwined. But as quickly as it happened, the spirit disappeared in a shower of snowflakes, his happy smile and exuberant music echoing in her mind and heart. She stood in the snow, her shoulders suddenly wracked by harsh trembling, and she came to the realization that her feet were numb with cold. Looking towards the girls, she saw them gazing at her with tearful eyes, each stepping towards her with hesitant and guilty strides.

"I…" the leader of the group began her green eyes overflowing with pain and tears "I'm-We- are so sorry, we were so selfish, and…wrong…and I'm…I'm just sorry."

"It's ok," Johanna laughed through her chattering teeth "if you had not, then I would not have beautiful experience of dancing with winter himself."

The girls smiled, and as one they descended upon the girl, dragging her towards her shoes and socks and coat. Each of them babbled apologies, and promises to be nicer in the future, and the girl just smiled through it all as she felt hope for a better beginning in this strange county swell up in her chest. Turning around, she searched for the pale face one more time, but her heart sank in disappointment when she could not find him.

But as she turned back towards the small town of Burgess, Johanna had a secret smile, because she knew she saw two sets of footprints in the snow.

**I know…super short, but the idea hit me so hard, and I felt like being a little more artistic than fluffy or angsty. I hope you guys don't mind.**

**REVIEW pretty please!**


	70. Epikaos5

**Ok, I know it was taking me forever to update this, but allow me to tell you my week. I got in a car Sunday night around midnight after church and drove until Tuesday afternoon a little over 3,000 miles across the country. Then on Thursday we got back in the car and drove back those 3,000 miles back to where we had been, not arriving until Saturday. AND THEN…we had a crazy Sunday where I didn't get home from church until about 2am. Needless to say, I haven't had much opportunity to write, much less update due to the fact that I have been switching off with my parents every few hours to drive and crazy awesome church services.**

**But now that that's over…EPIKAOS!**

"A'right," Aster said as he wiped his face off with the towel hanging around his neck "remember the steps, and this time Tooth please try ta stay on beat."

"Sorry," the girl shrugged with a giggle as she stretched muscles already sore from standing for so long behind her piano during their music practice.

"Ok," the Aussie shouted turning back to the microphone and pumping his fist "everyone follow me, and one…two…THREE!"

Aster and North went back to back, each leaning on the other as they started the song off with a wild dual guitar solo. After about four beats Jack joined in, and Tooth not too far behind him, while Sandy polished his mixing capabilities.

A week had passed, and the group had somehow and inexplicably been scheduled for nonstop practice. North and Aster had been scratching their heads over it, especially considering that all practice sessions had to be signed up for by the group themselves, and so the sudden influx of extra practices were a tad puzzling. But the band had just written it off as just their agent squeezing in more practices for the upcoming show, which could be a decisive step up in their career should they rock the house, and just went along with the extra slots. Jack hadn't slept the entire week since talking to Pitch, only managing to grab a few paltry hours of rest per night at the very most, and he could already feel the negative effects on his body.

The boy crashed his drumsticks on the instrument in front of him, sweat pouring from his brow due to the hot lights shining overhead, and his brain whirled as he became lost in his own thoughts. Would Pitch really do something so crazy just to get them to break up? The mere thought made the pale boy feel queasy, and he wasn't sure that he wanted to take that chance. Pitch was many things, determined, shrewd, and most of all he had a hatred for them and their band to the point that he had fallen into the depths of insanity over his zeal to see them fall. And now because of that insanity, it was all up to Jack to save his family by messing up his routine, and shattering any chance of their future in the music business. Jack couldn't choose, didn't want to choose, but he knew that it was more important to keep their family together than to chase the dream of fame on the stage. At the same time though, he couldn't bear to see the looks of disappointment that everyone will have after he messes up the show. Would they even look at him the same way?

Jack felt his chest tighten as he considered all of this, and suddenly the lights began to wobble and his vision swam in and out of focus. Taking deep breaths, Jack tried to continue, but felt his drum sticks slip from his fingers, and fall to the floor. North glanced up as soon as he heard Jack miss a beat, knowing that that was extremely unusual for his little brother, and his eyes widened at the way the small boy was slumped forward in his chair. Dropping his guitar and rushing over, the Russian youth grabbed his sibling, tilting him up so to look at him squarely in the face. Jack avoided his older brother's gaze, shame coloring his pale face, gritting his teeth against the feeble trembling in his limbs. North bit his bottom lip before giving a sigh.

"How about we take a break?"

"Is everythin' ok with snowflake?" Aster asked his green eyes narrow with concern.

"I'm fine," Jack mumbled as he stood up and began to walk away in unsteady footsteps "I'm just tired from all the extra practices, if I take a nap I'll be fine."

The group watched the boy wander off stage and Tooth felt an unhappy sigh slip past her lips "Is he going to be ok?" she asked softly.

"I don't know," North cast blue eyes to the floor as they began to sting with tears, and sat down on one of the many speakers on stage "He's been so quiet lately…and has been avoiding me…I'm worried."

"_Do you know what's wrong?"_ Sandy signed as he sat down next to North.

The blond youth shook his head "No," he answered in an agonized croak "I wish I did, but I do not." North bent over, placing his head in his hands as he grit his teeth so hard they creaked audibly "This is not normal!" he practically shouted.

"Naw," Aster sighed sitting on the other side of North and placing an arm around his shoulders "naw it ain't normal, Jack never acts like this an' I can't say that I'm not worried about the ankle biter. But ya can't keep beatin' yerself up like this. He'll come to us when he's ready ta talk, and hopefully it'll be before he collapses, but we can'tforce him ta talk. Ya know what he's like."

"Yes," North sniffed fiercely rubbing the tears from his eyes and wiping his nose on his shirt "he is stubborn, and will run away if I try to force him to talk. You are right Aster," the youth gave a decisive nod and stood up grabbing the Aussie into a quick tight hug and then releasing him addressed the rest of the band "it does no good being negative. I will just have to wait for Jack to come to me himself."

"Don't worry mate," Aster smiled slapping North's back affectionately "we're a family, and Jack is a little brother ta all o' us, yer not alone and neither is he, we got yer back."

"No kidding," Tooth burst as she jumped up and wrapped her arms around North's neck dangling from his immense height "so stop trying to act all macho, and let us help. We adopted each other when no one else would adopt us, and we stick together no matter what."

Sandy grinned as he gave North's shoulder a comforting squeeze, and the Russian youth gave a heavy swallow past the ball of emotion lodged in his throat "Thanks guys."

…

Jack stumbled through the back stage heading towards their RV, his only thoughts being to lie down and try to strangle at least a thirty minute nap from his day. But that sweet hope died before it could even be born when suddenly a dark figure stepped in front of him.

"Hello Jack,"

Jack felt his shoulders deflate and a resigned sigh slipped past his lips "Hey Pitch,"

"So have you been thinking about my offer?" the dark man sneered.

"Yeah," Jack whispered hoarsely as he cast bloodshot blue eyes to the floor "I've been thinking about it."

"So do you have an answer?"

Jack opened his mouth to answer, then paused "…No…" he answered slowly "I…I need more time to think…if it's all the same to you."

"It's fine," Pitch shrugged "you don't have to answer me now, take all the time you need, in fact you don't even have to say a single word. Wait to tell me your answer when it's time for your little solo, then I'll see."

Jack felt his chest heave as he fought down a sob "Yeah," he croaked as he turned around and began to walk away "…Whatever…"

Jack didn't expect North to be back at the RV, wondering as he climbed inside just how long he had been wandering around backstage trying to find his way back "North," the boy stammered "what are ya doing here?"

"What does it look like," the older sibling shrugged "I'm baking cookies, they are good stress reliever."

"Stress reliever?" Jack wondered aloud.

"Yes," North nodded a ghost of a smile playing about his lips "I have noticed that you seem tired, and I know it is mostly my fault for making you practice nonstop, and not giving you the vacation you wanted. I wanted to apologize."

"N-North" Jack whispered his eyes filling with tears all over again and his nose and throat began to sting "please…it's not your fault."

"No," North sighed shaking his head slowly "no it is my fault. When our parents died, I promised to protect you, and keep you by my side. But then we met everyone, and we grew up in the orphanage together, and became a family. When Aster got the idea to start a band after we discovered our mutual love of music, and I selfishly shoved your medical condition aside, thinking that music and our dreams would outweigh it somehow. I have been so selfish Jack, and I'm so sorry."

"No," Jack began to sob his shoulders convulsing "no it's not your fault."

"Yes it is!" North insisted kneeling in front of his younger brother "I should have been more concerned about you and your health instead of being so distracted by the band and getting a record deal."

Jack's chest heaved as he struggled to draw breath, and his vision was knocked askew as it went in and out of focus making him sway unsteadily on his feet. His limbs began to tremble as his pale hands reached up to grip his snowy hair. "No, nonononono!" he wept "It's my fault, its all my fault…mine…"

"How could it be your fault Jack?" North asked one quizzical eyebrow lifting.

"B-Because," the teen sobbed "It just is…I wanted to tell you…but I CAN'T! I wish I could…but…I'm so sorry North, I can't…I'm SO sor-"

Suddenly Jack's eyes rolled into the back of his head, and he collapsed onto the floor. North felt his eyes go wide and his chest tightened as he saw his little brother began to shake and convulse in a massive panic attack.

"JACK!"

Reaching down, North grabbed Jack, struggling to hold the body of the boy currently caught in the midst of a seizure. Aster burst in, his eyes wide as he took in the scene "What happened?"

"I-I don't know!" North cried holding onto Jack as he tried to soothe the tormented frame "We were talking, and then I apologized for overworking us, and then…this….Oh God, this is my fault…"

"North, snap out o' it," Aster growled as he dug furiously in his pocket fighting against the material holding his phone hostage "blamin' yerself isn't gonna help Jack. I'm gonna get Tooth, and call an ambulance, you stay with Jack!"

"Right," North replied in a broken sob clutching his brother to his chest.

Slowly the fever calmed to feeble twitches and trembles, and North sat on the floor of the RV stroking the pale boy's hair, rocking back and forth, whispering endless apologies. Their tears mingled, and the RV was soon silent save for the labored breathing of the youngest member. North shook from the silent sobs wracking his frame, the cookies lay scattered around them on the floor, and the young man listened as the wail of a siren from the Ambulance drew nearer.

"Don't worry Jack," North whispered brokenly pressing a kiss to his brother's temple "I'll take care of you, I won't lose you like we lost mom and dad. Everything's going to be alright, I promise."

With a whirl of activity, North watched through lifeless eyes as the paramedics came in, and took Jack away. Feeling as if all sound had left, and everything was stuck in slow motion, the Russian youth felt himself be picked up and guided towards the back of the ambulance by the doctors, his eyes only on his brother. Out of the corner of his eye, North vaguely acknowledged Tooth falling to the ground in a screaming heap at the sight of Jack, and Sandy barely reacted in time to catch her. Aster dove forward, placing his forehead against Jack's, his hands holding the boy's face, the Australian's features were tight in a grimace of sorrow. Finally after what seemed like an eternity, the family were bundled up inside the vehicle and were on their way to the hospital, each full of fear and worry for the life of their baby brother.

Pitch watched nearby, his face a smug sneer of triumph "Checkmate" he whispered.

**Hopefully you guys liked this chapter, I know it took me forever to update, but when you have my life, you rarely get time to breathe much less write.**

**AUTHOR'S NOTE!**

**I am going to be CRAZY INSANELY busy for the next few weeks/months, so if I do not update as often as I used to, it isn't because I hate you or am growing bored with the story, it's because I'm busy. I have NO intention of stopping this drabble any time soon. I'm having too much fun with it. Just please, have mercy on me, and be patient with me.  
**

**THANKS! Now….REVIEW!**


	71. Visions4

**Back to the top of the roster…Visions!**

**I hope you guys have been enjoying the stories thus far!**

_Flames…Jack could feel the heat arcing off of each greedy hungry tendril, licking away the paint and wooden facades of the sleigh. The wooden frame creaked as the boards groaned and snapped, exploding from the heat, making Jack feel his heart stop in fear. Reaching forward, the boy grasped the front of the sleigh, his chest heaving with labored breaths, as he fought for air in the overwhelming heat from the fire destroying the sleigh. His eyes turned towards the sky, a blue moon hung overhead while snowfall drifted down, looking much like tears dripping from the glowing orb, and Jack cried for help but found none._

_A jarring stirred Jack back to the problem at hand. The reindeer had disappeared, flying off into the distance, leaving the sleigh to plummet towards the earth. His scream mingled with the cry of another, and Jack whirled around, his eyes wide as he searched for them. Smoke and heat stung, making his vision unfocused, and Jack swung a pale blue clad arm up to his face in an attempt to block the worst of it and see who was riding behind him. But in the middle of the flames stood a tall figure, and Jack could only catch a glimpse of a muscular arm, a bit of fur, and a long coat sweeping to the floor. _

"_Jack!" the voice cried._

"_I'm here!" the boy replied reaching out a hand._

_The figure, his face shrouded from flame and smoke reached out his own arm towards the boy, each reaching towards the other "JACK!" the masculine voice screamed when suddenly the sleigh hit the side of a mountain, making it flip through the air in its descent._

"_NOOO!" Jack shrieked as he once again looked towards the moon only to see a type of lunar eclipse taking place drowning his world in darkness._

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Jack jumped up from his bed running across the room and slamming into the wall.

The affect was immediate, and the boy slid to the floor, and curled into himself wrapping his arms around his legs and burying his face into his knees. Uncontrollable sobs wracked his frame as Jack felt his heart freeze with the terror from his dream. Shaking hands reached up and gripped his white hair while the winter child rocked back and forth, his breath merely a labored gasp as he wept in painful jerking convulsions.

"Jackie!" Bunny shouted, bursting through the door only to see the small boy sitting against the wall melting into hysterics.

The Pooka immediately knelt down thanking the heavens that he had made the wise decision to stay the night at the workshop and not the warren, and pulled Jack onto his lap, rocking the child while caressing his head soothingly "Come on Snowflake, it's ok…"

"N-N-No it's no-ot!" Jack wailed gripping Bunny's fur and burying his head into the rabbit's chest "I-It's not ok!"

"Well it's goin' ta be," Aster continued in a soft voice meant to comfort and calm the child "Ol' Bunny's here, and I'm not gonna let anythin' bad happen ta ya."

"Shut up," Jack sniffled as his tears were beginning to slow "you're not old and we both know it, you're not even twenty. Besides," the boy paused long enough to give a forlorn sigh laced in tears "there's nothing you can do."

"Hmph," Bunny grumped "my physical body may be nineteen, but I've been alive as an immortal fer a lot longer than that."

"You guys don't treat _me _like I'm three hundred," Jack grumbled "why should I treat you like you're older."

"Listen here ya wanker, I-!" Suddenly Aster paused, his mouth hanging open before he shook his head violently, and cast a playful glare at the boy "Stop changing the subject ya brat," he chuckled gently "and in response ta yer earlier statement, how do ya know I can't help ya?"

Jack sighed at being caught, and snuggling into Bunny, he bit his lip as he considered his next words "…I…" he began slowly "I can't…You just…it's impossible Bunny."

"How do ya know?" the rabbit pressed giving Jack a gentle shake.

"Because," Jack's voice cracked as he struggled to form the words aching in his heart "you just…can't, and I can't change anything either. It's impossible, and I'm powerless to change it."

"Jack," Bunny tilted the pale boys head up so he could look at him "Jackie, look at me," Aster waited until Jack finally looked him in the eye and the Pooka granted his baby brother a gentle smile "I know the prophecy, I know the rules, and I know the vision, so let me help ya? I may not be the smartest person in the universe, but I'm no idiot neither, so give me a chance and stop stressin' over this all on yer lonesome."

Jack immediately cast his eyes back to the floor, his brain whirling as he considered Bunny's offer "Um…" he breathed in a whisper "I…I don't know…if I can."

"You can," Bunny whispered back as he pulled Jack closer in a tight hug "if ya want to. I know it's scary, and hard, and ya don't know what ta do, but let me be yer support. I want ta help ya, and I understand why ya have ta keep this ta yerself, but I already know so why not let me help?"

"Are you sure," Jack's question was muffled by Aster's fur where his face was buried "are you sure you want to help and risk failing and causing the deaths of millions of people?"

"It's worth the risk," Bunny said with a firm nod "if it means we can save North, and not let anyone die as a result, then I would gladly take the chance."

Jack wrapped his arms around Aster, grateful tears streaming down his face as he clung to what he found had become his lifeline, relief washing through him as he felt as if a ten ton weight had been lifted off his shoulders "Thank you," the boy sniffled "I really need my big brother."

"Well I'm right here ankle biter," Bunny smiled as he ruffled Jack's head softly "and I'm not gonna let ya have ta suffer by yerself, I'll always be here ta help ya when ya need me."

Jack nodded, biting his lips against the sobs creeping up his throat, and gripped the rabbit ever tighter. Aster snuffled Jack's temple, nudging his head with his muzzle, once again rocking the boy and humming deep in his throat as he tried to calm Jack enough to lull the winter sprite to sleep. Jack sighed, snuggling into Bunny's chest, feeling his eyes begin to droop and Jack vaguely hoped that he would finally get some semblance of sleep. Bunny stood, resituating Jack in his arms so that he carried him like one would a child, and walked over to the bed. Placing Jack back on the mattress, Bunny proceeded to tuck him in, but stopped when he noticed tearful blue eyes watching him.

"…Bunny…?" Jack whispered in a voice hoarse from crying.

"What is it Snowflake?" Aster said gently sitting on the bed and ran his paw through the white hair.

"Can…I mean…" Jack blushed slightly at the childish tone his voice had taken, made worse by the request he was about to make "I was wondering…I just…I don't like it."

"What don't ya like?" Aster asked his eyes twinkling with amusement.

"Um…Being alone," Jack whispered miserably "especially now…I can't sleep."

"Do ya want me ta stay here with ya?" Bunny asked gently.

"If you could," Jack nodded before ashamed blue eyes hit the pillow "you don't have to if you don't want to."

Jack waited, waited for the insults, or the sigh of strained tolerance as Bunny tried to create a plausible reason for why he couldn't stay; but instead Jack felt the dip and creak of the mattress as Aster climbed on top and pulled the blankets up. The winter child cast shocked eyes at the Pooka, and a relieved smile lit the child's face as he crawled into the rabbit's waiting arms, and snuggled his face into the soft fur.

"Thank you Bunny," Jack sighed as he began to drift off to sleep.

"No problem baby bro," Aster smiled.

"I'm not a baby," the sprite grumbled halfheartedly, a pout evident in his voice.

"Shut up and go ta sleep." The Pooka chuckled.

….

Deep in the caverns running under Burgess, Pitch stalked back and forth in his newly renovated living room. Ever since becoming on better terms with the Guardians, the Boogeyman felt an unexplainable urge to dress up his lair, and make it more…welcoming. Now his home not only had a fully functional kitchen, but it had various guest rooms, plus a large sitting room furnished with tasteful yet comfortable couches and chairs. Pitch would never admit it, but the sight of his lair looking more like a home and not a dank cavern filled him with pride, made him feel a sense of accomplishment. Of course he had yet to invite any of the Guardians over, and was pushing that particular chore off to the side until such a time that an invite of that nature wouldn't be too terribly awkward.

At this moment however Pitch was far too busy to stop and give his remodeled home a secret smile of smug pride, nor did he take the usual minute or so to run his fingers over his newly acquired couch and chuckle in barely restrained glee at how well it looked in the room. Right now the Boogeyman was wracking his brain in his attempt to help Jack. The boy had had another vision tonight, and they would only grow worse until the time of the vision came to pass. Pitch was just about to rush to Jack's side, feeling the immense amount of fear and panic overtaking the young boy's mind, but luckily Bunny came to the sprite's rescue and had calmed Jack down in record time. From what he could see, or more accurately feel, Jack was peacefully adrift in a dreamless sleep which made Pitch sigh in relief. He hadn't told Jack this, but visions of the future caused him pain.

How Sandy was unaffected Pitch had no idea, but for some strange reason the Boogeyman had almost what he would call an allergy to visions, and every time a child had one he would collapse on the floor and writhe in pain. It certainly wasn't pleasant, but what could he do? He was the Nightmare King, and being inexplicably connected to dreams and nightmares, he felt every time Jack fell into that state of having a vision for the future and even saw the vision right along with him. This time had been no different, and the Boogeyman admitted to feeling weary with the nights where they would wake up in twain, gasping for air, and hugging themselves for fear that the vision might return. Unfortunately that will not happen until the fated blue moon.

"Oh Jack," Pitch sighed sinking into his couch and rubbing his face with his hands "what are we going to do about this mess?"

Suddenly a crashing causing the Boogeyman to sit up, his face hard as he ran from the room, and glanced around for the culprit. A Nightmare flew past, its call a shrill whinny as it alerted its master to the presence of an intruder. Pitch furrowed his brow, his eyes becoming sharp as flint as he created the giant scythe and began to walk towards the sounds. What he found caused him to not only drop his weapon, but his eyes widened and his jaw went slack at the sight.

The large chamber, one which still lay under construction as Pitch pondered just what use to give it, was wreathed in flame. Everything that had been stored inside while the Boogeyman worked on carving it out were being eaten by scarlet tendrils, and the heat roared like a furnace. The cavern walls turned red from the exposure, and smoke poured out in billows. Shielding his eyes, the dark man peered inside, and saw the figure of a woman. Red hair flowed down her back in curly waves, and an obsidian crown sat atop her head. A scarlet dress shimmered around her as she walked, accented by the black thorns embroidered on it. But her eyes, once a joyful holly green, were now hard as chipped ice, and just as cold.

Pitch stumbled back, his face pale as he shook his head in disbelief "…No…" he murmured "It's you…"

**OOOOH! Looks like you will find out just who the mystery lady is that wants North's head on a pike!**

I said I would be busy, but I didn't say that I wouldn't try my best to update when I could. Thank you so much for all your support in this Drabble.

**Please continue to do so through…*drum roll* REVIEWS!**


	72. Simply Adorable

**I know, IknowIknowIknow….I SHOULD be writing Toddler Bunny…but this hit me and I just wanted to write it SO much!**

**As always…no I do not own ROTG.**

"Oh, I'm gonna hurt 'im." Bunny groaned from where he sat around the large table, a cup of hot tea firmly clasped between his paws, and a box of tissues standing guard next to a plate of steamed carrots.

Tooth gave the Pooka a sympathetic smile "I'm sorry you aren't feeling well," she said softly patting one of his paws "Jack should be here at any time."

"Why does he always have ta be late?" Bunny cried in a strangled yip before exploding into a round of coughs and sneezes "I mean," the Pooka sniffled "would it kill the drongo ta be on time fer once?"

"Do not worry old friend," North smiled comfortingly "he probably just lost track of time, and is flying as we speak."

Aster gasped, his breath hitching as he reared back and then let loose a howling sneeze "Sure, whatever ya say mate." He sniffled rubbing his nose with one paw.

Grabbing his tea mug, the Pooka took a long draft of the liquid before leaning back into his chair with a pained groan, while the rest of the Guardians went back to their previous occupations whilst waiting for their youngest member to arrive. A few moments passed until suddenly a yeti walked up to the table, and tapped North on the shoulder. The large man looked up and leaned to his side as the creature whispered its garbled language in his ear, Bunny, Tooth and Sandy each waiting wondering what was going on that one of the head yetis had to come and inform North about it.

North's face twisted into a smile of amusement as he turned to face the yeti "Of course, we will be right there."

"Wha's goin' on North?" Bunny asked with one eyebrow raised.

"Follow me," Santa said in a low voice laced with laughter "the yetis found Jack, and apparently he is doing something that they wish us to see."

Tooth exchanged looks with Sandy, while Bunny shrugged, and all stood so to follow the lumbering creature through the workshop and into a hallway that led into one of the side tunnels allowing access into the launch tube for the sleigh. Stepping onto one of the many balconies on the side of one of the massive pillars within the icy tunnel, the Guardians looked out, and each smiled at what they found.

Jack sat on a rafter high up in the tunnel, his blue eyes bright and his face decorated by a wide grin. As far as he could see, there was no one else in the tunnel, and was unaware of his onlookers. Cupping his hands around his mouth, the youngest Guardian let out a loud bellow.

"HELLO!"

'_HELLO!'_ came back the echo.

Jack snickered before calling "Is that you?"

'_Is that you?'_

"Yes it's me!" Jack replied happily.

'_Yes it's me!'_

"Prove it!" Jack cackled kicking his legs with delight.

'_Prove it!'_

A happy pout poked Jack's bottom lip out "I asked you first!"

'_I asked you first!'_

Jack melted into a round of helpless giggles, and Bunny found himself smiling warmly at the child having his fun. The last time he had found Jack doing something of this nature, it had been a dark conversation, leading Jack to a deep depression; but now it seemed that the boy had discovered the childish joy in playing with an echo, and was no longer haunted by memories of the past nor was talking to an ice person.

"John Jacob Jingle Heimer Schmidt!" Jack sang gaily "His name is my name too! Whenever we go out, the people always shout, JOHN JACOB JINGLE HEIMER SCHMIDT NANANANANANANA!"

Tooth stifled a giggle, while Sandy rolled around midair melting into a puddle of silent laughter. North chuckled deep within his chest as they watched a rare moment of pure childlike glee from the winter spirit.

"…Whenever we go out, the people always shout…" Jack sang in a whisper bouncing up and down before flinging his arms wide and bellowing "JOHN JACOB JINGLE HEIMER SCHMIDT NANANANANA!"

Once again peals of laughter echoed throughout the tunnel, and the Guardians could only smile, Bunny especially as he shook his head "Count on the ankle biter ta be cute when I want ta be mad at 'im."

The others could only nod, because it was true, how could you stay mad at a winter spirit who was just plain adorable?

….

"What are these?" Jack asked hesitantly.

"They are socks," North shrugged.

"…Socks…?" the winter child repeated slowly, flipping the limp material around so to get a better look at them.

"Yes," the large man nodded "yetis make especially for you, something about how your bare feet make them feel cold…" North waved a dismissive hand "at any rate, they are for you, and you can wear them if you wish."

The two pairs of socks, one blue and one green, sat in Jack's hands as he shrugged "…Ok…"

Later on, the Guardians sat in the living room, each engrossed in some activity, before Tooth popped her head up, her face creased with confusion "Where's Jack?"

"I left him in his room some hours ago," North said vaguely as he pushed his reading glasses up his nose and peered at the list in his hands "I gave him a pair of socks to try on."

"Socks?" Bunny cocked his head at the odd concept of Jack wearing any kind of foot covering before giving it a firm shake "How long does it take ta try on a pair o' socks?"

Sandy shrugged before a small light bulb lit over his head, and he began weaving pictures for the Guardians "You think," Tooth interpreted slowly "that maybe Jack doesn't know how to wear socks?"

"O' course he know how ta wear socks," Bunny laughed before quickly sobering "doesn't he?"

Each of the Guardians looked at the other, before quickly standing and running to Jack's room in search of a boy who could possibly be having problems with footwear, what they found however was quite the opposite.

"I did not, and I'm telling you I never will." Jack's voice wafted through the door, the tone curiously high in a female falsetto.

"Ya did Sheila, admit it." This time the boy's voice was lower, and suspiciously Australian.

Cracking open the door, the Guardians peeked inside, and saw Jack sitting with his back to his door, and the socks on his hands. The blue sock on his right, and the green one on his left, and the winter child was using them as puppets. "Will you two ever stop fighting?" Jack sighed as he shook his head mournfully at his sock puppets.

"Tooth eats candy when no one's lookin'" Sock Bunny accused, his cotton covered brow furrowing with disgruntled agitation "I saw her myself."

"I never did such a thing!" Sock Tooth denied vehemently, her material mouth curling into a snarl.

"Yeah ya did," Sock Bunny taunted.

"Did not!" Sock Tooth defended.

"Did"

"Didn't"

"Did"

"DIDN'T!"

Jack snickered quietly to himself before regaining his composure "Bunny, do you have proof of this?"

"Yeah, I do," the sock replied smugly as it whipped forward and pulled a candy hidden under the green folds of Sock Tooth's elastic "see fer yerself!"

"NOOOO!" Sock Tooth wailed dramatically before pinning Sock Bunny with a glare "Well you suck your thumb when you're a kit!"

Jack melted into a round of giggles, delighted at being able to tease Bunny for sucking his thumb without actually telling him to his face. The Guardians found once again the warm smiles that Jack was so proficient at provoking lighting their features, but Tooth let out a small gasp and looked at Bunny. Aster looked down at her and winked.

"Don't worry Sheila," he whispered "I've known all along, but there's nothin' I can do about it, but don't tell Frostbite."

Tooth smiled and opened her mouth to reply but was cut off by more of Jack's play "What are you doing?" Jack said in Tooth's voice.

"I'm opening a window," Jack hiccupped his voice still overcome by laughter "all this hot air from your fighting is making it uncomfortable in here."

"Close that window," Sock Bunny bellowed "it's bloody chilly in here!"

"Don't use that word around the children!" Tooth admonished.

Shaking their heads, the Guardians walked away from the door, Jack's voice echoing behind them as he continued his fun. North sighed, his eyes twinkling from barely restrained amusement "Not exactly what I meant when I gave the socks for him to wear," the large man chuckled "but oh well, I cannot be mad for him using them as…toys."

The Guardians lasted about five seconds before melting into laughter, who knew that Jack Frost would complete them and make them a family in such a heartwarming way?

….

Sandy floated along the hallway at the workshop, searching for North, but a strange sound stopped him. Pausing in his flight, the golden man peeked inside the bathroom only to see Jack singing into his tooth brush.

"We are family," he sang as he wiggled his hips and bobbed his head "I got the Guardians and me! We are family, no come on everybody and SING!"

Sandy smiled broadly at the way Jack had come to finally see them as his family, and continued to watch, his amusement growing more and more as the mini show continued.

"And now ladies and gentleman," Jack said with an Elvis accent "I give you, when good Pookas go bad."

Scrubbing his teeth vigorously, the boy built up a bunch of froth in his mouth until it ran down his lips "Attack of the rabid Bunny!" he shouted at the mirror as he started growling and walking around like a zombie.

Bending over the sink, the boy spit into the bowl, and then straightened up and gave the looking glass a dazzling smile "Now Jack," he said in a falsetto voice meant to sound like Tooth "be sure to brush your teeth twice, no…three…wait….uh, FIVE times a day!"

Leaning forward, Jack curled his lips back checking over his teeth "Gotta check your teeth, and make sure there isn't any leftover food in them," he said still imitating Tooth before suddenly rearing back with a horrified gasp "What is THAT?! A spot?! NO, anything but a SPOT!"

"That's it," Jack cried clapping his hands on his cheeks and dancing around "I'm taking your teeth hostage, and cleaning them every day, ask North to make you some dentures from ice. You're cold enough so they won't melt!"

Sandy guffawed silently as he watched Jack put his tooth brush away, and then reaching into a drawer, the boy pulled out a comb and began combing his hair "Proper hygiene is important," Jack continued, now imitating North "You must always make sure to brush your teeth, comb your hair, and wash your face."

Finishing combing his hair, Jack pondered his image in the mirror before playing with his frost powers, and making his hair spike out like Sandy's. The boy cackled at the reflection, and then gave himself North's beard.

"Look at me," he said in an over exaggerated deep voice "I'm Santa!"

Jack tilted his head back, giggles pouring from his mouth accompanied by the occasionally snort. Sandy grinned, and sent some dream sand into the bathroom. When Jack looked back into the mirror, he had a pair of golden Bunny ears growing from his head. His mouth fell open, and he immediately looked at the door only to see the Sandman give a small wave before falling into a round of silent laughter. Jack's mouth moved, but no words came out, his blue eyes were wide with shock at being caught, until finally he shrieked.

"SANDY?!"

**I know guys, this isn't part of the roster, but it was so cute in my head, I HAD to put it on paper!**

**READ THIS PART!**

**Ok, apparently I caught a rumor that they are leaving it up to the fans on whether we want a sequel to ROTG, so anyone who reads this and wants a sequel to the movie, please find a way to contact Dreamworks via fanmail, and lets flood that place with our demands for another movie with the Guardians!**

**Thanks so much for your patience, and love, now REVIEW!**


	73. Toddler Bunny4

**Time for even more Toddler Bunny!**

**To those of you trying to convince me to skip my roster and just update the next parts of my stories, I cannot do that, I set up the roster to ensure that everyone gets an update. All the arcs have different fans, and I don't want anyone to get gypped in their update for each arc going right now.**

**So though I adore your zeal in wanting to know what happens next, I must respectfully say no in order to make sure that I am fair to everyone else **

**ENJOY!**

It had really not been Jack's week…

With Easter just a little over a week away, Jack was anxious to get Bunny back to his usual self, and stop the fun filled events that had haunted his every waking moment since Jack saw Bunny turn into a small child. He had been chased by overgrown plants with razor sharp teeth, his staff had been stolen and hidden numerous times(and always conveniently before the plants turned into flesh eating monsters), not to mention that Bunny had developed yet another crazy power, one that Jack had no clue the rabbit was capable of…shape shifting.

"TOOTH!" the boy screamed for the umpteenth time that day "He did AGAIN!"

Toothiana flew into the room, her mouth quirked in a small smile at the sight of the pouting winter spirit "He did what again?" the fairy asked patiently.

"He changed shape again!" Jack groaned his arms spreading wide "He has been changing shape and disappearing on me for the past three hours!"

"Oh yeah," Tooth giggled giving a broad grin "I had forgotten that he does that."

"You had…forgotten?!" Jack snarled his blue eyes bugging out "This is the third thing you had 'forgotten' about telling me. First there was the fact that he turns into a kid at all, then there was the fact that he could manipulate plants and turn them into brain eating zombies, and now it's the fact that he can change shape which I didn't even know he COULD do, so pray tell, any other little surprises?!"

"Calm down Jack," the fairy soothed "I understand your frustration but we need to find Aster, Bunny doesn't shape change in his normal form very much, if at all, because it takes a lot out of him and requires more energy than he usually has. The last time I saw Bunny shape change for a long period of time, the energy needed to stay in that form put his metabolism go into hyper drive and he actually almost starved to death just by shifting for longer than thirty minutes."

"WHAT?!" all anger at Bunny for shifting on him flew out the window as the sprite grabbed the fairy by the shoulders and gave her a firm shake "He could be lying dead in a corner for all I know!"

"We'll look together." Tooth nodded as she flew into the air.

"Right!"

Jack grabbed his staff and began zipping around the workshop screaming at the top of his lungs "ASTER! Aster answer me RIGHT NOW!"

"Bunny?" Tooth called flying through the halls "Bunny!"

Jack flew up into the rafters, his heart clenched in fear as he remembered Bunny's strange fondness for heights as a child, and then let out a squeak when he finally found the object of his search. Bunny sat on the rafter, his little furry face screwed in concentration before he looked up and smiled at Jack.

"Jack!" he chirped happily "Look what I can do!"

The little Pooka shifted his body changing until he was a carbon copy of the winter spirit sans the staff, but Jack felt his breath catch in his throat as his heart stopped when Aster's face grimaced and he clutched his stomach. Pitching forward with a groan of pain, the child returned to his rabbit form, but was plummeting towards the floor of the workshop. Aster opened his eyes, his pain filled face going slack in fear as he realized that he was no longer on the rafter, but was speeding down past the various floors of the workshop. His small chest began to heave up and down as the small rabbit started to hyperventilate, and he curled up into a ball, his voice a frightened wail.

"JACK!"

"BUNNY!" Jack shrieked as he dove down towards the Pooka.

Gritting his teeth, Jack ducked his head, streamlining his body, until finally he was able to scoop up the Pooka in his arms scarce feet above the bottom floor. Aster clung to him, a sobbing mess, his little head burrowed into the front of the winter sprite's shirt. Jack stroked his ears, and snuggled him close, using everything he had learned over the past week or so that he knew made Bunny calm down, but Aster was inconsolable.

"DOWN!" he screamed "DOWN!"

Jack looked down, and realized he was still flying, and quickly plopped onto the floor. Sitting on the smooth tile of the workshop, Jack rocked Bunny back and forth, snowy white teeth capturing his bottom lip as he felt worry and sorrow stab his heart. Jack cast his eyes around until finally he found a small linen closet, and the boy strode over to it in quick determined steps, rummaging around until he found a thick quilt. Wrapping the little bunny inside of it, Jack fetched a small teddy bear, and placed in Aster's paws. Bunny accepted it eagerly, and clutched the stuffed toy to his chest, promptly popping his thumb into his mouth. His disconsolate wails slowly withered away turning into hiccupping sobs, and Jack allowed himself a small sigh of relief as he watched the rabbit snuggle closer to him.

"I'm sorry," a small voice spoke.

Jack snuggled the downy head with his nose stroking the long ears "For what?" he asked softly.

"I sh-should have listened ta ya," the little bunny hiccupped "b-but I d-didn't, and I…I…f-f-fell."

The last part of that little confession caused Aster to melt into another round of helpless tears and fearful cries "I n-n-never want ta go high, ever again!"

Jack sighed, and then wrapped the quilt tighter around his armful "Ok," he replied gently "you don't have to go high, I'll protect you."

"Jack!" Tooth flew up behind him, her lavender eyes wide as she took in the current state of the diminished Easter spirit "What happened?"

"Bunny was on a rafter, and shifted," the boy replied solemnly before placing one hand over Bunny's ears and lowering his voice to a barely audible whisper "and he fell."

Tooth gasped, but then nodded her head "It never gets any easier," she sighed with a humorless smile "he does that every time he regresses, and for some reason the fear of heights is, as far as I know, the only thing he keeps with him from his time as a kit."

"Yeah, well-" Jack began but was cut off by a little wail.

"I'm hungry," Aster sniffled "my tummy hurts!"

"If he's been shifting as long as you say," Tooth said seriously "then we need to get some food into him now before he starves."

"Right," Jack nodded.

Standing up, Jack bent his knees preparing to take off towards the kitchen, but a small whimper stopped him. Fighting the urge to violently hit himself on the forehead, the sprite remembered that he shouldn't fly, lest he risk Bunny going into hysterics. So with a resigned sigh, the boy walked towards the kitchens, Tooth flying ahead of him so to start preparing a suitable meal that will both nourish and soothe the frightened kit. Jack attempted to make his stride as smooth as possible so not to jar his bundle, and found himself smiling in amusement at Aster sucking his thumb, his little nose twitching as he sniffled. Finally, after what felt like an eternity of walking, the duo arrived at the kitchens.

Tooth was already skillfully commandeering an oven, making cream of carrot and rice soup, accompanied by a freshly baked biscuit, and warmed carrot juice in a Sippy cup. Jack placed Bunny, blanket and teddy and all, into the booster seat at the breakfast island and finally sat down with a groan as the little bunny dug into his meal. The tooth fairy smiled at Jack, flying over so to sit on the table next to the winter sprite, and run her fingers through his hair.

"Thank you Jack," she said softly "I know it hasn't been easy on you, and with me and Sandy helping North prepare for Easter, you're the only option we have to babysit Aster which I know must be hard all by yourself."

"Well," Jack huffed as he cast up a playful smile at the spirit who was so quickly already becoming like a mom to him "at least I now have a deeper respect for single parents."

Tooth pursed her lips, but was unable to restrain the giggle that soon burst forth "Admit it though," she said giving Jack's head a playful swat "you've liked having baby Aster all to yourself. The cuddles, the giggling, his little whispered 'I love you' at night, and best of all the way he runs to you crying and wanting to be held every time he's scared or hurt himself."

Jack cocked his head before giving a slow nod "You're right," he replied smiling "it's such a different side of Bunny that I never thought I'd see. I mean, he's always there comforting _me_, or being strong and helping _me,_ and I had happened to see him have a couple meltdowns when he had been turned human, but nothing more than that. I mean, when Orion attacked, and Bunny got an arrow through his leg and a knife in his side, he barely flinched. It's just hard to connect the two sometimes, that Bunny is both fearless warrior, and an innocent kit who's scared of the dark."

"We all have beginnings," Tooth murmured, her eyes taking on a faraway gleam "and you can't base where you'll be on where you are. Bunny was once, and sometimes still is, that innocent little kit who cries when he gets an owie and needs a hug when he's scared. But life changes all of us, and depending on what choices you make, you never know what the future holds. Like you said, he looks so small and weak right now, but through hard work, and training, Bunny became the strong warrior we all know, love, and depend on. You can never judge a person by their beginnings, but you can cheer them on as you watch them grow. Maybe that's why I love children so much, I get to guard their beginnings, and I'm intricately connected to them as they grow into their future selves."

Jack stared in wonder at the vast wisdom Tooth held, realizing not for the first time that despite the ditzy appearance, she was truly a warrior queen "You're right," he replied softly "I never would have thought as Jackson Overland that one day I would be a winter spirit and a Guardian of children, all because I chose to save my sister."

"And we are so thankful that you did, and are." Tooth whispered leaning forward to give Jack a motherly hug and press a kiss to his temple.

Warmth burst inside Jack's chest, a tumult of emotions roiling within him, as he leaned into the embrace. Gratitude that Tooth and the other Guardians viewed him as part of their family, happiness for the fact that he had made the right decision by saving his sister and thereby beginning his life as a spirit, but most of all love, love for his adopted family and the future that they would enjoy together.

"I-I love you…Tooth," Jack stumbled awkwardly as tears stung his eyes "you're the best mom a spirit can have."

Toothiana felt her heart stop before it suddenly became overflowing with feelings of love and loyalty to the child she held in her arms "Oh Jack," she sniffed valiantly trying to hold back the tears of gratitude from Jack's softly spoken words "I love you too, we all do."

The winter child smiled, closing his eyes as he snuggled into the fairy's shoulder, but their moment was cut short by a little paw tugging on Jack's hoodie "I wanna hug too!"

Jack barked out a laugh, disentangling himself from Tooth's arms "Get over here furball!"

Scooping Bunny into his arms, Jack cuddled the kit, but then started tickling him "How about this," he cackled "is this what you want?"

"NO!" Bunny squealed as he giggled uncontrollably "No tickling!"

"Oh yes tickling!" Jack laughed gaily "I think I more than deserve the right to tickle you uncontrollably, especially since every day for the past week you have been Mr. Energizer Bunny, driving me crazy and running EVERYWHERE!"

With that, Jack leaned forward, and blew a raspberry on Bunny's stomach, causing the child to shriek in laughter "Mommy, help me!"

"Hmmm…" Tooth pondered theatrically "Should I? NAH!"

Diving forward, she targeted his ears, tickling them in their sensitive spots, while Jack attacked the kits ribs. Aster writhed, cackled, and snorted, his squeals of laughter echoing throughout the kitchen causing the yetis to turn and cast amused smiles on the group. After about five or ten minutes of that though, all three were worn out, and panting hard, their faces decorated by loopy grins that only a good tickling session can provoke. Aster sat on Jack's lap, occasionally letting out the random giggle, before curling up against the winter sprite's chest and letting out a yawn.

"Oh thank God," Jack whispered in seeming rapture "I think it's nap time."

Tooth giggled "You want the afternoon off, and I can take him?"

Jack pondered this, in truth he wanted to zip out and spread some well needed snow around the Northern hemisphere before Easter arrived in all its punctual glory, but at the same time he couldn't deny that he had come to enjoy napping with his little brother. But with a resigned sigh, Jack handed the kit over to Tooth.

"Ok," he nodded "but remember, don't fly."

"I won't," the fairy chuckled before walking out.

Jack watched them leave, a twinge of jealousy twisting in his chest before he shook himself "Time to go visit Jamie!"

With a smile and a whoop, the boy flew from the kitchen, a trail of snow drifting behind him as the powers he had kept bottled up finally found an outlet, needless to say many schools throughout the world found themselves buried in snow, and the children found themselves enjoying a freak spring snow day.

**Everyone happy with Toddler Bunny? Yes? GOOD!**

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	74. Pitch's Passion8

**So here we are again at Pitch's Passion!**

**Hope ya'll have been enjoying the story thus far, because I've enjoyed writing it.**

**Now, ON WITH THE SHOW!**

Pitch sat in the main living room on a couch reading a book, his long legs stretched out in front of him while Jack lay curled up into his side and partially on his lap, snoring away blissfully. One gray hand stroked the winter sprite's head, while his deep baritone hummed, occasionally turning a page as he whiled away the hours. Earlier in the day Jack had begun to get fussy, and though it was near the end of his hibernation, he still had time before he would wake up. Naturally Pitch did not want Jack thrashing around and whining, so in an attempt to placate the child he had begun humming, and the boy had taken to it immediately. The Boogeyman now lived in regret of his decision, because every time he stopped, or paused, Jack would immediately scrunch up, and start to whimper, but such was his life. Now he had been sitting in the living room with a pile of books, humming anything and everything that came to his head to keep Jack in peaceful slumber, which was mostly show tunes of course, but it was music, and it kept Jack from pitching a fit.

Turning the page of the book he was reading, Pitch almost jumped a foot in the air when a voice spoke behind him "You have a nice voice you know, I never expected you to be a singer."

The Boogeyman whirled around, though careful not to deposit Jack onto the floor, and faced the source of the voice, and of all people it was Toothiana "W-Well," he stammered as he struggled to maintain his composure "I'm hardly what you would call professional, it is just something I do to pass the time, it sounds even better down in my caves…acoustics and all."

"I'm sure it does," Tooth laughed softly as she looked at Jack and smiled sweetly "we really do appreciate your staying and helping out with Jack, it almost feels like you've become part of the-"

"DON'T," Pitch suddenly hissed his face turning away to hide the sudden flash of pain "don't say 'family'."

"I…wasn't," Tooth replied hesitantly "I was going to say 'group'."

"Oh," the Boogeyman replied his face becoming crestfallen at her denial "I see, well then that's…good, that's good. You shouldn't feel that way anyways, not about me."

Tooth bit her lip, unsure of how to proceed. In truth, she was perfectly intent on saying 'family', but Pitch had appeared so against the idea she didn't want to make things more awkward than they already were between them. Add in the fact that Bunny had told her about his and Pitch's conversation where the dark specter didn't even want to be called their 'friend' almost made her think that Pitch was ready to be rid of them. But that look just now, when she denied that she was going to say 'family', that disappointed weary look broke her heart and scattered it into a million pieces. She could see why now that Jack and Bunny had stuck around, why they had gone against the past mistakes between all of them, and willingly decided to forge a friendship between them and Pitch. Because underneath the gothic robe, and cynical attitude, laid a heart that had been broken and bruised more times than it had the strength to endure.

Dragging a footstool over to the couch, Tooth sat down in front of the bereaved man, surprising him by her actions and even more by her words "We can be," she said softly almost in a whisper "we can be if you want."

"Be…what?" Pitch felt his head and his heart reel backwards, unsure of just what was transpiring in that moment lit only by the glow of the flames in the fireplace.

"Your family," Tooth replied slowly "you can be one of us."

Pitch felt derisive snort burst from his lips "Isn't that Manny's job?" he hissed "Choosing Guardians."

"You don't have to be a Guardian to be one of us," Tooth sighed "it was a lesson that we had to learn, and it's taken far longer than it should have, but it can still be put into affect…if we choose."

"And what do you choose?" Pitch asked darkly, turning away making the firelight cast half of his face in shadow.

"I choose…" Tooth paused picking out her words carefully as she tried to answer Pitch in a way that would help him understand that he no longer had to live alone "I choose to end the violence. We've been fighting each other too long, and I'm tired of being enemies, why can't we talk and learn to solve our differences through words not hostility."

"End the violence?" Pitch spat sarcastically "How can we do that when I'm your hated enemy, your opposite in every way, I'm the one Manny created you to defeat."

Tooth jerked back, her lavender eyes falling to the floor "He never said to defeat you," she said quietly "he only said to protect the children, meaning that maybe you have something inside of you that has been twisted by the dark but can be used for good, something you never realized you had."

"If that was the case," the Boogeyman sighed "then why didn't Manny say anything?"

"He didn't say anything to Jack either," the fairy shrugged "Jack basically refused becoming a Guardian until after your…after…well, until after. He still holds some resentment for MiM because of the three hundred years of silence when Manny, and we, failed him."

Pitch let out another forlorn sigh, one hand dragging down his face as he stared into the flames. They sat like that, the clock on the wall ticking away the minutes until Pitch finally spoke again "…Why are you telling me this…?"

"Because I'm tired of being enemies," she said softly her eyes filling with tears at the confession she was making "because I've seen a side of you this summer that makes me feel so guilty that I never tried to get to know you as a friend before, because now I see that you're a good man who has been hurt so many times by…by me…and I can't bear to leave things as they are and not try to fix the wrong we've, I've done."

"You dare speak to me about wrong?" Pitch closed his eyes, unable to handle the sincere apology from the fairy "Do you even know the atrocities I've committed? Are you even capable of understanding the depths of darkness I have sunk to in order to gain my way?"

"I do," Toothiana said in a broken whisper "but I think," she leaned forward, placing her delicate hand on top of his larger one "I think that it's worth the risk."

Time screeched to a grinding halt, and the Boogeyman completely forgot everything else that existed save for this one moment "Toothiana," he whispered "this would be a very bad idea."

"I don't think it is." She whispered back.

"But…But," Pitch scrambled searching for a way to convince her that befriending him would be the worst idea ever in the history of mankind "I'm not trustworthy," he choked "and liable to betray you at any moment. You would be inviting the wolf in through the front door if you were to do this."

"Then I will take responsibility for it should it happen." Tooth said firmly unrelenting in her position.

"…Tooth…" the man gasped.

"Please Pitch," Toothiana pleaded, threading her fingers through his and giving them a squeeze "you don't have to be alone anymore, you can come out of the darkness and join a family, you only have to step into it. We're ready and waiting for you to come, but it's up to you."

Suddenly the Boogeyman felt the strength to meet her gaze, and their eyes locked. His heart beat at an all time high, its tempo racing, drumming in his ears. He had never noticed before, but her eye were the same color as pink Arabian silk, so soft and silky they captured him and threatened to drown him in their ever shifting depths. The firelight played on her feathers, causing each one to glisten, and the dark specter could only stare in awe at the beauty he had never noticed before now sitting in front of him holding his hand in hers. Tooth seemed equally enraptured, and without a word, both slowly began to lean towards each other their eyes never leaving the other.

Tooth felt a shiver run down her spine, but not in distaste, almost in excitement. She had read so many books describing this scenario, where two people would suddenly feel a magnetic pull, and begin to drift towards each other. She would never have imagined that she would experience this with Pitch, of all people, but for some reason it felt…right. Closing her eyes, she tilted her head, giving an unspoken invitation, waiting for what she realized she had begun to hope for and anticipate. Pitch was overcome by fierce trembling, unable to control himself as he drifted towards her, and cupped her face with one hand. His brain shouted at him, veritably shrieking at him, to stop what he was doing and make a run for it even with Jack hanging onto his leg all the way, but he couldn't. His very being was gravitating towards this one small act that he didn't know he craved so desperately.

'_Maybe'_ he thought as he closed his eyes and began to bridge the gap between them _'maybe I _can_ join this family, maybe I can finally stop living alone, but will have something to live for other than pointless bitterness and thoughts of revenge.'_

But just as their lips were about to meet, a small voice croaked beneath them "Um…what are you doing, and why is Pitch at the workshop?"

The two sprang apart, the spell broken, and they looked down to see a now awake Jack staring at them with confused eyes "For that matter," the winter child continued "why am I asleep on his lap? That's just…all kinds of creepy."

"Oh Jack," Tooth gave a high pitch trill laced with nervous embarrassment "you're awake! We didn't expect you for at least another week!"

Jack shrugged, his eyes droopy as he slowly regained wakefulness "You know me," he yawned "always gotta defy expectations."

"Indeed," Pitch snarled as he felt his face heat up at the thought of what he had almost done, and just who had witnessed it almost happening.

Standing up, Pitch all but flung Jack off his lap and onto the floor "Since you are awake now," the Boogeyman said briskly as his brain urged him to make a hasty exit "I will be leaving. Goodbye."

With that, Pitch melted into the shadows, leaving Jack to sit on the floor with a look of weary confusion. Turning around, the winter child was shocked to see Tooth sitting looking at where Pitch had disappeared her face disappointed and almost…sad. Jack grimaced, he had just had the weirdest, most creepiest, awkward wake up in his entire life, no way he was going to make it worse by asking Tooth just what she and Pitch were planning to do whilst he lay sleeping on the Boogeyman's lap.

"Uh," Jack coughed "I'm gonna…I'm gonna go…you know, raid the refrigerator and…stuff."

Zipping out, the winter child sped away from emotional females, creepy Boogeymen, and any other weird things that may or may not have happened during his hibernation.

**Well Mystic, was this chapter everything you were hoping for?**

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	75. Epikaos6

**Yes, yes, we are back to Epikaos. How ya'll liking the story thus far?**

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"North, ya a'right?"

The Russian youth looked up, only to find Aster standing in front of him, holding a cup of coffee under his nose "Yes," he said grasping the cup and giving Aster a grateful smile "and no."

"Don't worry mate," Aster said softly sitting down next his adopted brother and friend "Jack is a fighter and awful stubborn, so I'm sure he's gonna pull through and be up and about in no time, we just need to keep up the hope."

North nodded, his crestfallen gaze peering into the murky depths of his mug "He will pull through, we must believe that, for Jack."

"I'm sure he'll be fine," a sneering voice spoke from the doorway of the hospital waiting room "though probably not before your big show. That's like, what, barely a week away?"

"Pitch!" Tooth snarled jumping up from where she had been sitting and pinning the young man with a glare "What are you doing here? You don't even care about Jack!"

"Sure I care about little Jackie," Pitch laughed his mouth never morphing from its sarcastic leer "he was my little brother too, or did you forget that we grew up together?"

"_We haven't forgotten," _Sandy signed angrily _"it was you who turned your back on us for reasons beyond our control."_

"Oh yes," Pitch chuckled darkly his topaz eyes glaring daggers at his twin "the old 'we couldn't help what happened, it wasn't our fault' excuse, almost makes me feel nostalgic. However that's not why I'm here, I just came to check on Jack, out of all of you, he is probably the most innocent due to him being so small when it all happened."

"Wow Pitch," North spat with lips twisted by cynicism "that must be quite an effort for you, acting to care that is."

"Don't lecture me about not caring, _North_," the dark male hissed his eyes taking on a maniacal gleam "because the way I see it, you're the one endangering your brother's life chasing after the dream of fame as a band."

"How dare you!" North snarled though his blue eyes broke with hurt at the truth he thought existed in those words.

"Oh I dare," Pitch swaggered into the room, his hands clasped confidently behind him as he began to circle the Russian youth, eyeing him like a cat eyed its prey "in fact, it's the whole reason why I'm here."

"What do you mean?" Tooth growled crossing her arms and pinning their prodigal brother with a stern glare of mistrust and suspicion.

"I mean that I have a proposition for you." The dark twin grinned maliciously.

"_Like we would listen to a proposition from you?"_ Sandy huffed with a smirk.

"You might want to listen to this one," Pitch replied in a smooth whisper as he leaned in close to his brother's face bared his teeth.

"Fine," Aster said firmly "we listen ta ya harebrained scheme, deny ya, then ya leave. Sounds easy enough."

"Oh I don't think it will go _quite_ like that," the darker twin chuckled.

"Well get on with it," North spoke gruffly, crossing his arms so to give Pitch a good view of his bulging muscles.

"It's very simple, I want you to not show up to your show in San Francisco, thereby disannulling any chance you had of a record deal, and a show in LA." Pitch shrugged.

"HA!" Tooth barked "Right, and what makes you think we would agree to that?"

"Because if you don't," Pitch smile grew to an evil grin, his eyes growing dark with evil intent "then I will go to Child Services and tell them that North is an unfit guardian for Jack. All they would have to do is see the sheer amount of practices you sign up for and put him through, not to mention living on the road isn't exactly a stable environment for a child, and the icing on the cake…Jack is right now in the hospital due to stress and dehydration leading to a massive panic attack. That would be enough to throw him into the foster care system and far away from you for the next…four years?"

The group stood there gaping at Pitch, each of them shocked beyond words at the truly evil insanity driving him to seek their destruction. "You…wouldn't…DARE…" Tooth finally snarled.

"Yes. I. WOULD!" Pitch spat back.

"Pitch," Aster growled his voice growing into a roar "You SHADOW SNEAKIN' RAT BAG!"

"Oh I'm so wounded," Pitch moaned theatrically "I'm being insulted by a deranged Aussie who can't even speak proper English."

"GET O'ER HERE NOW!" Aster finally screamed lunging at their former friend and family member.

North and Sandy barely caught him in time, North staring accusingly at the dark twin "It was you," he whispered angrily "YOU were the one who signed us up for all the extra practices!"

"Maybe," Pitch shrugged.

"But wait," Tooth walked over her lavender eyes thoughtful "extra practices doesn't explain all of Jack's stress, and North said that Jack said he couldn't tell him something…what else did you do?"

"Not much," the man smirked at Tooth "besides, its Jack's fault for believing it in the first place. It was such a farfetched idea, but I guess he always was the more gullible one of all of us, even as a kid."

Suddenly North was no longer holding back Aster, but both had rammed into Pitch, and pinned him against the wall with enough force to shake the picture hanging there "WHAT DID YOU DO?!" he bellowed in Pitch's face.

"Jeez North, ever hear of a breath mint?" Pitch sighed dramatically.

"Stop makin' stupid remarks ya drongo and answer the man," Aster snarled before leaning in close to hiss "or I'll mess ya up so bad ya will have ta eat all yer meals through a straw."

"You will have to ask Jack," Pitch smiled triumphantly "either way though, in the end I win. Jack can't possibly get well before your show, and even if he does, you still have to make a decision."

"Not if I beat yer brains out," Aster growled.

"That's even better," Pitch scoffed "I can see it now. Poor hospital bound me calling Child Services to report that dangerous, and potentially _violent_ atmosphere of his home, my being in the hospital would only help strengthen my case."

Aster's eyes twitched, and he gritted his teeth so hard they creaked until finally he let go, but reared back and socked Pitch in the gut so hard the man bounced back off the wall and sunk to the floor.

"That was for Jack," the Aussie panted "now I suggest ya get yer sorry carcass outta here, before I do somethin' I regret."

Pitch glared at Aster, his lips twisted with disgust and hate, before finally he merely smirked at them and walked out of the room as confident as he had come. The tension in the room eased considerably, and suddenly the group found themselves emotionally and mentally exhausted, collapsing on the floor with wobbling legs and uneasy hearts. Aster bent his knees, placing his head between them, and occasionally punching the floor with frustrated fists. Sandy hid his face in his hands, unable to look at the family he loved so dearly being hurt by his twin brother. North just leaned against the wall, his breath coming in short gasps as he fought the urge to cry, to scream, to hunt down Pitch and give him the beating his deserved. Tooth leaned against North, her eyes filling with tears as she buried her face in his shoulder.

"Poor Jack," she sobbed beating North's chest with a delicate fist "why would Pitch do something like this?! It's too awful for words!"

"I don't know Toothy," North replied in a strangled whisper one hand patting her back consolingly "and I don't want to, it is too dangerous to try and understand insanity."

"No kidding," Aster sniffled causing everyone to look up in shock at the usually stoic Aussie begin to tear up, his chin wrinkling as his bottom lip quivered "and the trouble is," he gasped as he struggled to maintain composure "we don't even know how or why he got like that. He could have asked us for help, but he didn't, and he blames us for not knowin' he needed our help. How could we have known? How could we know that the people who adopted him only took him in because they were goin' ta use him ta sell drugs and keep him in a basement with dozens of other boys? HOW?!"

"We couldn't" North sighed heavily hugging Tooth closer as she wept harder "we could never have known the evil that he would go through. They seemed like nice people, well dressed and clean, we thought he was being adopted by rich people, and so did Pitch. How could we have known it was all a cover for child labor in a drug den?"

"No wonder he's so messed up," Tooth sniffled "but I still wish he would have come to us for help, instead of blaming us for not coming for him. We would have if we had known what was going on…we would have saved him."

"I know," North whispered, rubbing Tooth's arm "I know."

"Um…"

The group looked up, their eyes blurry with tears, only to see Jack's attending doctor standing in the doorway "Are you the group with Jack Overland?"

"Yes!" they shouted scrambling up from the floor and hastily wiping their eyes.

"We are the Overland family," North said his blue eyes staring beseechingly at the doctor "please, how is our brother?"

The man smiled "He's stable," the entire room sighed and Tooth gulped back a joyful sob "and is currently resting in his room, you can see him at any time."

"Thank you!" North clapped his hand on the doctor's shoulder before practically picking him up and setting him to the side so that he could barrel past and out the door.

"Wait fer us ya dingbat!" Aster shouted smiling apologetically at a nurse they almost stampeded as the entire band ran full speed down the hall.

"Run faster," North barked over his shoulder narrowly missing the cart of food trays going across the hall "or are you too much of a slow poke to keep up?"

"Oh here we go," Tooth sighed subtly moving to run on the side of the hall fully anticipating the race that was about to begin.

"Sounds like a challenge," Aster snickered as he ran past Tooth and matched North stride for stride as they ran beside each other "first one there gets ta be the first one ta hug Jackie when he wakes up?"

"Deal," North nodded with a grin.

"DEAL!" Tooth squealed suddenly putting on a burst of speed "That hug will be MIIIIINE!"

"HEY!" both boys yelled as they watched the surprisingly fast green haired girl sprint down the hall.

Sandy gave a silent laugh and joined his brothers _"You mentioned hugs," _Sandy chuckled _"you honestly think that she will let either of you two get a hug before _her?!"

"Bloomin' Sheila," Aster muttered angrily though his mouth quirked up into a grin that had no evidence of his former sorrow "guess that means we hafta run faster, eh North?"

"BLAST OFF!" North cackled as all three sped up and pelted pell-mell down the hall.

They ran ducking nurses, dodging medical instruments, and sliding past wheel chairs until finally the screeched to a stop outside of Jack's room. North burst through the door, panting hard, his eyes searching for the little brother he loved so dearly. Tooth sat on the bed, her soft voice murmuring as she stroked the hair of the boy whose body was hidden from view. Striding forward, the three boys shoved the curtain aside, and all let out a joyous whoop to see Jack awake and sitting up, his body braced by mounds of pillows.

"Hey guys," Jack croaked weakly "anyone got a milkshake? Because I could really use something cold."

**Wow…just so you know…I started this with only a vague idea of what I wanted to happen, but as I wrote the ideas flowed down from my brain and into my fingers. AWESOME!**

**As always, REVIEW!**


	76. Visions5

**VISIONS!**

_Pitch stumbled back, his face pale as he shook his head in disbelief "…No…" he murmured "It's you…"_

The woman smiled evilly at Pitch, the flames dancing around her as she sauntered towards him, while her hair arced out on either side almost blending in the orange glow "Hello Pitch," she practically purred "how's things?"

"How's things?!" Pitch repeated incredulously his eyes narrowing with disbelief "Holly," he gasped "is that you?"

"Yep, it's me," the lady chirped her green eyes lit up by the flames and an underlying bitterness "honestly I'm surprised that you even know who I am anymore, I've practically been forgotten about everywhere else."

"How could anyone forget about you," the Boogeyman asked slowly as he began to walk backwards his brain reeling urging him to find a way to get her to leave before she destroyed his home "I mean, you ARE the spirit that inhabits the feelings of Peace and Goodwill during Christmas."

"Don't you dare talk to me about THAT!" Holly spat sending Pitch scurrying backwards as the flames raced out engulfing more of his home.

"I see you have a new look," he shouted over the roar of the flame "interesting since I don't remember fire being one of your abilities, trying for a change?"

"You could say that," The former spirit of Peace calmed down and sauntered through the lair and into the living room "let's just say I have finally begun to see things differently and am no longer going to continue being so passive and pathetic."

"Oh?" Pitch queried his face giving an imperceptible wince as he watched the woman sit down making his couch begin to smolder "May I ask what brought on this change?"

Holly braced her face against her palm, her green eyes scrutinizing the dark figure in front of her "Let me ask you something Pitch," she said softly with an almost menacing undertone "don't you ever get tired of being stuck in your current predicament, of being subject to the humans who live in and run this planet, without any freedom to decide your own future?"

"Of course," Pitch shrugged sitting across from her on a nearby chair "I'm sure even the Guardians-"

"The Guardians!" Holly snarled as the material of the couch around her began to curl and smoke "It's their fault that I'm like this! For centuries I guarded the spirit and feelings surrounding Christmas long before North ever came on the scene, but then here comes the jolly fat man, and for a while I thought 'We're partners! He brings joy, and I bring Peace!' but I was wrong, SO wrong!"

"You…" Pitch said slowly as he put the pieces together "hate North?"

"YES!" the spirit shrieked "It wasn't until he started bringing gifts that Christmas lost its meaning! Gone are the feelings of Peace and Goodwill, now every year is full of whining children screaming about how they didn't get what they wanted, and families fighting because the children are fighting. Selfishness, hate, bitterness, all pouring from the children they protect because those brats no longer know how to be thankful that they are even alive and have their families with them. They only care about owning fashionable clothes, have the perfect phone, and the latest toys! And if they don't get what they want, then they automatically assume their parents hate them and want to ruin their life, and stomp off in a selfish rage. Do you know how many times I have gotten kicked in the teeth, and burned by a child's selfish desires when I was trying to fill them with feelings of love, compassion, and giving? Too MANY, that's HOW!"

"But there are people who try," the Boogeyman said as casually as he could manage "people who work at homeless shelters, and children who give away their Christmas gifts to needy children, as well as countless people who bring food to those who have none. You can't say that the feelings of Christmas are destroyed."

"Heh," Holly snorted as her flames diminished "what's wrong Pitch," she sneered "you're sounding like you actually care, something happen in the past one hundred years that I don't know about?"

Pitch closed his mouth with an audible snap, and shrugged, looking away not daring to meet her eyes. Holly leaned forward, her icy green gaze now glaring at him "You are different," she hissed "I can tell, you're stronger…you…You're getting believers again!"

Pitch opened his mouth, his lips giving a small pop, before closing it again and shrugging "…Possibly…"

"How?!" Holly growled her nails digging through the material of the couch.

"Well," Pitch chuckled nervously as his eyes lamented over his precious couch being slowly consumed by fire "that…is a long, and strange, story."

"TELL ME!" The spirit shrieked.

"The Guardians!" Pitch cried his hands balling in frustration over the impolite attitude of his impromptu house guest "We came to a…truce, and now I have found a way to do my job, and not suffer being pummeled by them for it!"

"They…" Holly huffed the flames around her growing till they reached the ceiling and her green eyes glowing like flickering emerald flames "helped _you_ get BELIEVERS?! And they ignored ME?!"

"I wouldn't say 'ignored'," The Boogeyman coughed "more like…temporarily misplaced, they _have_ been busy training their newest Guardian you know."

"They have a NEW GUARDIAN?!" was the screamed reply.

"Ah," Pitch's shoulders deflated when he saw that this was not going anywhere good very quickly "you know Holly, it has been a wonderful chat, but I think you should go and…ah….take a soothing walk. It's winter you know, and I'm sure Jack has laid some lovely snow on the ground, it all makes for a very refreshing jog don't you think?"

"I came to enlist you," Holly snarled completely ignoring Pitch's attempts to get her out of his lair "but I see that even you have betrayed me by siding with _them_. Fine, if that is how you want it to be, then I'll give you a firsthand account of just what I will bring to this world, and ultimately to you!"

"Oh dear," Pitch sighed as he looked towards the ceiling where he imagined the moon to be "here we go. Tell me Manny, was I this chatty while I was evil?"

"SHUT IT!" Holly shouted "Just you wait Pitchiner! Not only will I have my revenge against North, but I plan on burning down every house of every child on this miserable planet, teach them what it _really_ feels like to live without, and I won't be satisfied until the sky is dark with the smoke of the flames of my righteous fury!"

"Is that before, or after you destroy the Guardians?" Pitch asked casually.

"Wait, what?" Holly said the flames going out as she gave the Boogeyman a puzzled glare.

"I mean," the man shrugged "destroying North, and burning down every home in the world, that's all well and good, and liable to give me some very tasty fear, but what about the _other_ Guardians? There are five of them now, and one of them has control over snow and wind, and could probably put your fires out."

"I…I…Well…wha-" the woman stammered "What does THAT have to do with anything?!"

"Look," Pitch said gently as he folded his hands together in a placating gesture "you're having the same problem I did, you're so overcome by thoughts of revenge that you aren't thinking things through logically." The man looked to the side, quickly muttering "though my plan was much classier and almost worked, but who cares, right?"

"I'm nothing like you!" the woman growled stomping her foot petulantly.

"No, you're most definitely not," the Boogeyman laughed before he quickly sobered "what I mean is, just ask yourself this; what happens after I get what I want? Really, what? Billions of people are left homeless, and you really think that will promote peace, and more thankfulness for their lot in life?"

Holly glared at the Boogeyman, huffing in dissatisfaction "It could…"

"I doubt it," Pitch deadpanned.

"Then what do _you_ suggest?" the woman spat sarcastically.

"You need help," Pitch ignored the muttered 'Duh' from Holly, and continued "and I'm not just talking mentally, maybe you should go talk to someone who can solve this problem with words and not…fire."

"Oh?" Holly mocked "and just who would that be?"

"Maybe…" Pitch bobbed his head from side to side as he struggled to say his idea "North?"

"WHAT?!" Holly screeched "ME?! Talk to NORTH?! NEVER!"

Pitch face palmed as he watched her mounting fury burn everything in his living room, and quickly grabbed one of the pillows on his couch saving it from a fiery demise "Good bye home," he sighed forlornly "I wish others could have seen you before you perished in flame."

"Pitch, you rat!" Holly screamed "I am going to kill you, and everyone else who is associated with the Guardians!"

"Oh goody," Pitch moaned sarcastically while holding the pillow "a death threat, I'm absolutely terrified."

Holly, incensed at his careless attitude, let out one long indignant screech "DIIIIIEEE!"

Fire shot out from her body, going into every cavern, and chamber, of Pitch's lair. The Boogeyman ducked into shadow, knowing already that everything in his home had officially been demolished by her rage.

"Cursed emotional females," he muttered unhappily as he warped towards North's workshop "curse them and their inability to maintain their control and listen to reason!"

….

"I'm tellin' ya mate," Bunny laughed loudly "them's the rules o' football in the outback!"

"Seriously?!" Jack asked bug eyed "That's so cool, I didn't know different countries had different rules in sports."

"O' course they do!" Bunny winked.

The Guardians were enjoying dinner and Jack had for the first time in weeks decided to join them, something that made the entire group sigh with relief, especially Bunny. Over the past five years the Pooka and North had been helping Jack get used to eating, and now he had worked himself up to being able to finish almost a whole serving at dinner, which Jack truly enjoyed. It was because of this that he was happily eating ham baked in brown sugar, mashed potatoes and gravy, with a side of cinnamon apple crisp, all without a single worry of what might happen later. North was currently embroiled in a serious discussion with Sandy concerning a new movie coming out and how it might have a character that symbolized the Sandman in it, and the two were barely concentrating on dinner because Sandy was so passionate about someday getting a movie about him. Tooth was just listening to Jack and Bunny talk, her face decorated by a warm motherly smile that lit her features and made them glow.

Suddenly a knock came from the front door, causing all chatter to cease, and North cocked a confused eyebrow at his family before lumbering over to open it "Pitch?" he exclaimed "How many times I tell you? You don't have to knock, just come in and-why are you holding a pillow?"

"Hello North," Pitch sighed and he slunk through the door.

"Pitch," Tooth rushed to his side her delicate fingers trailing over the burns decorating his skin and various parts of his clothes "What happened?"

"I need a place to crash," the Boogeyman pouted as he gazed unhappily at the pillow clutched in his gray hand his topaz eyes shimmering with loss over his beautiful new couch "Holly has gone rogue, and has somehow become a fire spirit. She destroyed my home, and almost me with it."

"Oh you poor thing," Tooth cooed running her fingers through his hair "I'm going to go right now and get you some burn ointment and a fresh pair of clothes."

"Thank you," the man replied quietly before walking over to the dinner table.

Sitting down next to Bunny, the Boogeyman wrapped his arms around his pillow, and buried his face in it, letting out a sigh that was laced by a groan of supreme frustration accompanied by several incoherent mumbles that were muffled by the stuffed material. Bunny and Jack cocked their heads, peering at their friend.

"Ya a'right mate?" the Pooka asked gently.

Pitch lifted his face so that only his chin was resting on the pillow, and then kicking his legs in a mini temper tantrum he finally whined "NO! I worked so hard on my home, and she destroyed it without a thought, I ask you, how can anyone be so rude?!"

"I have no idea," Bunny replied snidely as he gave a playful glare at Jack who in turn stuck his tongue out at his older brother.

Finally Jack looked back at the Boogeyman, his blue eyes wide with puzzlement "Uh, Pitch?"

"What?" The man growled darkly.

"Why are you holding a pillow?"

The Boogeyman paused, his thoughts becoming melancholy as he remembered the beautiful couch and how soft it's cushions were before blowing out a small sigh "I don't want to talk about it, it's simply too painful."

Jack and Bunny jerked back, each of them opening and closing their mouths as they tried to formulate an appropriate answer, but equally turning up empty on just how to answer the man. Finally they settled with turning back to their dinner, and continuing their talk on Australian rules versus American rules concerning Football.

**HI! Just thought I would try to make this chapter a little more upbeat, heaven knows this arc needs a little humor LOL.**

**As always, REVIEW!**


	77. Toddler Bunny5

**Here we are again with Toddler Bunny!**

**Hope you guys are enjoying it!**

"Jack, stop it!" Bunny squealed, high pitched giggles echoing throughout the workshop.

"No way!" Jack cackled, his pale fingers attacking the Pooka's ribs mercilessly "You've been deserving this for a long time!"

"NO!" the Pooka kit giggled slapping Jack's hands with desperate little paws "No more tickles!"

"Ok," Jack sighed happily flopping backwards onto the grass.

It was the evening before the Eve of Easter, and come the next morning, Aster would be back to his original age and size. Jack was ready to have the older Pooka back, but a part of him was sad about losing the kit. Nonetheless though, they were enjoying their last evening together by having a picnic at the Warren, and then a tickle fight. The Guardians had warned Jack that Bunny wouldn't remember much of being a kit, if anything at all, but the winter sprite held out hope of him remembering at least enough to warrant Jack being allowed to tease him over sucking his thumb.

"You," the sprite chuckled tiredly with closed eyes and one finger pointing at Bunny "are one silly rabbit."

"I'm not a rabbit, I'm a bunny" Aster giggled softly as he crawled across the grass and snuggled into Jack's side his soft nose twitching as he inhaled deep drafts of the winter spirit's scent "You smell good."

"I what?" Jack laughed outright.

"You smell good," the little bunny repeated rubbing his head against the sprite's chest as he got comfortable "you smell like pine trees and new snow, and now…you smell like me!"

"Well yeah," the Jack smiled fondly giving the furry head a soft noogie "if you keep rubbing your head against me, I'm gonna smell like a Pooka. Do you want me to smell like you?"

"Yep," The rabbit yawned contentedly.

"Why?" the winter sprite asked genuinely intrigued by the idea.

"Because," Aster sighed, one little paw patting Jack's chest gently "it means I love you, and that you're my big brother. I want everyone to smell me, and know that you belong to me, and that we are family and we always will be."

Jack felt a ball of emotion lodge in his throat over the honest answer, and gave his reply by grabbing the toddler kit and rubbing his face all up and down Aster's head "I guess that makes us even, huh?"

Aster giggled giving Jack a small kiss on the cheek and hugging him tight "We're gonna be brothers forever, right Jack?"

The winter sprite smiled "That's right buddy, we're always gonna be brothers."

"Good," the kit smiled "hey…Jack?"

"Yeah Aster?"

"I feel funny," the bunny sighed.

"Whattaya mean?" Jack lifted his head, one protective hand reaching up to feel the kit's forehead for a fever.

"I don't feel good," Aster whined softly "my tummy just started hurting."

Jack's blue eyes went wide and he looked at the watch North had given him for Christmas the year before, it was almost midnight, meaning Bunny was going to start transforming any second. Jack hugged Aster close, snuggling the rabbit's head with his nose and planting a kiss above one of the ears. "Don't worry little guy," he whispered softly "everything is going to be ok."

Aster's ears flattened against his head, as he clutched Jack and a small pained groan whispered from his lips "I want mommy," he whimpered "it hurts."

"I know buddy," Jack sighed "I know, but it will all be over soon."

Once again the lights surrounded Bunny, and covered his furry frame, making Jack have to let go and the winter sprite scrambled away as he watched the metamorphosis begin. The little rabbit slowly grew into a luminous larger Pooka, and soon the lights had all dispersed leaving Bunny lying unconscious on the grass in his original form. Jack rushed forward, his blue eyes wide as he gazed on his now older brother.

"Bunny," he said gently shaking the Pooka's shoulder "Bunny wake up!"

No response came, and Jack groaned in frustration "Come ON kangaroo, say something, anything! Call me frostbite, insult winter, go on a stinking rant about how Easter is better than Christmas!"

A small groan came from the warrior and green eyes fluttered opened slowly "Easter is better than Christmas, ya git." The Pooka mumbled tiredly.

Jack grinned brightly as he tackled the rabbit in a big hug "BUNNY!" he shrieked "You're back!"

"Yeah, I'm back," Aster said gently as he gave a fond shake of his head and patted the sprite's back "now can ya get off o' me? I can't breathe."

"Oh, right!" Jack leaned back up and smiled as he watched Bunny sit up and give a long stretch.

"I tell ya kid," the Pooka sighed as he stretched his paws high over his head "that transformation gets worse every time."

"What do you mean worse?" Jack cocked his head in confusion.

"The more I go through it, the more disoriented I feel." The rabbit shook his head "I'll be lucky ta make it halfway through my rounds this time and still be on time."

"I can help!" Jack volunteered.

Bunny sat back, and considered carefully before answering "Ya, why not?"

"AWESOME!" the winter sprite shot into the air with an excited whoop before plummeting back to the earth.

Bounding forward Jack once again wrapped his arms around the Pooka "I'm glad you're back Bunny," the boy sighed "I missed having my big brother, I think I actually prefer being the younger sibling."

Aster smiled, and hugged Jack back before giving the child a gentle shove "Careful Jack, yer gonna ruin yer image, all this mushy stuff is scarin' me."

Jack burst out in loud laughter "Alright kangaroo," he grinned "let's get hopping and take care of finishing up Easter!"

"Sounds good kid," the Pooka nodded.

…

Much later, Jack and Bunny sat in the Aussie's living quarters in the warren, both recovering from the strenuous activity of pulling off Easter. Bunny sat in his favorite armchair, his large feet propped on a footstool, and a mug of homemade herbal tea between his paws. Jack had fallen asleep on the couch, his own tea lay forgotten on a side table, and a nibbled on cookie held between delicate fingers. Aster smiled at the exhausted child, his paws gently tapping the mug of tea and his whiskers twitching as he became lost in thought.

In truth, he did not have many memories of his time as a kit, but contrary to popular belief he actually did retain some memories should the experience make a strong enough impact to forge a memory that could withstand the transformation. Now that he was himself again, Aster was sorting through the memories, examining each one.

He remembered Jack yelling at him, scolding him for not listening, making Aster chuckle softly at the role reversal. Then he remembered making Jack "play Easter" and eventually chasing the boy around the workshop with a plant that he had manipulated to grow into a zombie plant with teeth, which again made the Pooka crack up at the memory. The next memory caused him to pause, his furry lips pursing in thought as he considered it. He had rediscovered his ability to shape shift, and had overused it, resulting in him falling off the rafter and down through the workshop. The rabbit shuddered at the memory, his old fear rearing its head making his paws shake in terror, but then he remembered Jack diving down towards him his arms outstretched and mouth wide open as he screamed in fear for the life of the kit. Aster cocked his head at the memory as it progressed to Jack calming him down, giving him a teddy bear, and wrapping him in a blanket.

But the memory from right before his transformation, that one struck a chord with him the deepest:

"_We're gonna be brothers forever, right Jack?"_

_The winter sprite smiled "That's right buddy, we're always gonna be brothers."_

Aster looked over at Jack, his smile becoming warm as he remembered how Jack called him his older brother without fear, reservation, or even hesitation. It made the Pooka have to swallow a large ball of emotion as feelings of gratitude and affection for his odd family welled up in his heart. Walking over to the sleeping winter child, the rabbit gently coaxed the cookie out of Jack's hands, and then leaned down to pick up his little brother. Tucking the white head to lay on his shoulder, Aster carried Jack to the sprite's room, dipping his muzzle to snuffle the boy's temple. Jack let out a sigh, and snuggled closer to his adopted sibling, making the Pooka chuckle.

Placing Jack on the boy's bed in his room, Bunny tucked him in, and ran his paw through the soft white hair "Thank ya Jack," he murmured softly "fer everything."

A small smirk quirked one side of the winter child's mouth "Aw," the boy muttered incoherently "you do care."

Aster let out a surprised bark of laughter at the boy talking in his sleep "Ya brat," the rabbit chuckled before leaving the room to its current sleeping occupant.

**So…how was that for closing out the arc? It needed to be done guys, I know you didn't want it to end, but we had lots of fun didn't we?**

**Can't wait for the upcoming one shots and future arcs! **


	78. Pitch's Passion9

**Hey EVERYONE! **

**I know that I haven't been making a lot of updates recently, but let me tell you, I have been traveling nonstop across different states, and have barely had a single day or evening where I could sit down and write.**

**Plus the fact that I'm still trying to raise the $25,000 needed to go on a Missionary trip for a year in Europe, so I have also been attending conferences, and selling various types of merchandise at my booth in order to do that.**

Needless to say…I've been busy.

**BTW…Has anyone seen the movie Epic? I JUST watched it, and it truly lived up to its title! I am now a hopeless fangirl of Ronin…that dude is a BEAST!**

**Now that I'm done explaining myself, let's get on with the SHOW!**

Pitch walked into his kitchen, his stomach growling as he suffered from a severe case of the munchies, but sighed when he realized that his cabinets and fridge were bare, and what little there was didn't seem very appealing. It had been four months since his hasty exit from the workshop after the almost kiss with Toothiana, and the Boogeyman had sunk into a depressed slump, unable to think or even function normally without memories of the past summer rearing up in his subconscious. As much as he hated to admit it, and he really hated to admit it even in his head, he missed them.

He missed the nightly playing of canasta with Bunny, joking and laughing, each one attempting to throw the other off his game so that they could gain the winning edge. He missed sitting in the living room with North, drinking hot chocolate and eating cookies, while North picked his brain for toy and gift ideas for the more serious children of the world. He even missed sleeping at night, and waking up to see Sandy hovering over him, sprinkling golden dream sand over both he and the winter spirit, giving him the first sweet dreams he had had in well over a few centuries. But most of all he missed Toothiana, her smile, her wit, the charming way her nose wrinkled when she laughed. Pitch smiled wistfully as he remembered they way her feathers glistened in the firelight, her lavender eyes staring right into his without the slightest hint of anger or disgust, the feel of her soft skin under his fingertips when he had cupped her face with his hand.

Suddenly Pitch reared his hand back and firmly slapped himself across the face hard enough to make the sound echo throughout the caverns "No," he hissed to himself "you are their enemy, and nothing more…they will never view you that way anyway, so stop acting like a fool!"

But the words did not penetrate his heart, and soon the Boogeyman slumped into an unhappy pile on one of the barstools lined around the breakfast island in the kitchen. Leaning forward and placing his chin on the cold stone countertop, Pitch let out a depressed sigh as his heart squeezed with the sorrow gripping it in its unrelenting claws. Who was he kidding? Certainly not himself, that was for sure. He enjoyed his summer with the Guardians, and his constant babysitting of Jack, plus his time spent with the other Guardians, he felt like the prodigal Uncle who could only stop by during the rare moments of free time, but was loved and accepted. He wanted it back; the golden moments of comfort and relaxed enjoyment in the company of others, the nights where he would retire to bed and say good night and actually have people to reply instead of the cold lonely echo of his caverns.

The Boogeyman let out a growl of frustration at the melancholy afflicting his senses, and softly beat his forehead against the countertop in a silent plea for things to start making sense, but it was then that he heard a strange noise. An explosion mixed with the sounds of tinkling bells, and the smell of fresh snow. One gray eyebrow rose as he considered whether he honestly wanted to go see what it was, before he rolled his eyes, and dragged himself away from the breakfast island.

"Anything is better than wallowing in misery," the Boogeyman muttered as he walked towards the noise.

Drifting towards the entrance of his lair, the dark specter stopped as his jaw dropped.

There sitting on the floor, dusted with soft snow, was a Christmas present wrapped in silver paper accented by blue stars and bow. Pitched plopped onto the floor and crossed his legs, bracing one elbow on his knee and resting his chin on his fist, the Boogeyman scrutinized the box, pursing his lips in careful thought. To be honest, there was a deeply imbedded primal urge that screamed for him to rip open the box and peek at was inside, but Pitch was above such things…at least he thought so. Instead he slowly and deliberately reached forward with his other hand and grabbed the card attached to said gift, his eyes narrowing as he saw what was written on it.

_To: Pitch_

_From: G_

"So it's from the Guardians," the Boogeyman murmured.

Looking up, the man gazed at his calendar to see it declaring tonight to be December 24th. Once again casting topaz eyes to the present sitting on the floor before him, Pitch heaved a sigh and delicately picked up the small box. "Easy now old boy," Pitch breathed softly "it's just a Christmas present, it isn't that important."

But his heart told him otherwise, this wasn't _just_ a gift, this was a _Christmas present_ from _North_ aka _SANTA CLAUS_! This was something Pitch had never gotten before, and never thought he would ever get. Wincing, Pitch felt the smallest whimper escape his lips as he resisted the altogether childish urge to open said present with uncontrollable zeal, but that resistance came crashing down when the smallest beam of moonlight shone through the hole leading into his home, making the wrapping sparkle enticingly. With a growl of irritation at his inability to control himself, Pitch dove in, ripping the wrapping paper until he found a small wooden box masterfully crafted by hand. Each side of the box had a different carving of one of the Guardians, and on the top was an image of himself surrounded by stars. Pitch looked at the box in awe, his gray fingers stroking each detail as he admired the beauty. Placing it on his lap, he opened the box, hesitantly looking inside, and gasped when he found an envelope.

Opening it, he pulled out a letter, and with wide eyes began to read.

_Pitch,_

_You have been quite good this year, helping with Jack, making friends with Bunny, so I give you a gift. No, the box is not the true gift, just a means to an end. If you want to know what the real gift is, meet us in Chicago at your favorite theatre at seven o'clock._

_N._

Dropping the letter, Pitch began to pace back and forth, softly muttering to himself as he contemplated just what he should do. Should he go to the theatre? If he went he would see the Guardians again, and talk to Toothi- ah…no, that would be awkward, What if she didn't like him? What if she was offended by his forwardness in almost kissing her? Pitch paused, cocking his head in thought, well she didn't seem all that offended or upset since she was about to kiss _him_, but the probability of her not being too happy with him was still there! The boogeyman shook his head, pounding his skull with frustrated fists, his feet stomping as he wandered in a circle, what should he DO?!

"Oh for HEAVEN'S SAKE!" Pitch finally snarled, stomping his foot "I'm going!"

Melting into the shadows, the Boogeyman made his way to Chicago, gritting his teeth the entire way. Popping up in the middle of the street, the Boogeyman strode forward and looked up at the lights adorning the sign. A Christmas Carol was playing tonight, it was a play that Pitch had never seen, nor expressed any desire to see, but the Guardians were inside and they had gone through the trouble of sending him a message in an elaborately carved box, so if it meant suffering through a play that he had sworn never to watch to see if they were serious about giving him a gift in good will, then so be it. With a heavy sigh, the dark man walked into the theatre and up the familiar flight of stairs towards his favorite balcony, what he saw there struck him speechless.

The balcony had been transformed, instead of dusty cobwebs and half-finished carpentry work, there were hundreds of decorations. A huge Christmas tree stood in one corner while a pile of presents exploded from the bottom, a table had been set with enough food to feed an army sitting on top, the smell of which caused Pitch's mouth to water. Twinkling lights, plush furniture, and gleaming fabrics covered the balcony, making it look like a cozy living room while a magical fireplace burned cheerfully in the back wall. And sitting in the middle of all of it were the Guardians, drinking, eating, and laughing, none of which had noticed he had arrived until Tooth turned towards the door.

"PITCH!" she exclaimed zipping over to him happily "You came!"

"Y-Yes," Pitch stammered his eyes still wide and his brain still reeling from shock "I did, though I'm still not sure why."

"Well duh," Jack rolled his eyes sarcastically "it's Christmas, and families come together for Christmas so that they can show off their ugly sweaters and laugh about stupid stuff that no one actually remembers."

"Ya have a weird interpretation of Christmas, ya know that freezer burn?" Aster deadpanned earning a playful glare from his younger adopted sibling.

North however laughed out loud at Jack's candor "Yes!" he bellowed excitedly "Families come together for Christmas, and since this is our first Christmas as family, we celebrate at place where it all started."

"F-Family?" Pitch sputtered his chest heaving as he began to hyperventilate from the sheer impossibility of what was happening "This…This has got to be some kind of joke, right? A really sick…cruel…unfair, joke!"

"Why would it be a joke?" Tooth murmured gently placing a delicate hand on his trembling shoulder "I told you didn't I? That we can be your family, if you want us to be."

"Yeah mate," Bunny nodded "granted, some pretty awful things have been done…on both sides, but I'm with Tooth and agree that a time for a truce and a clean slate is now, but it all depends on if ya want it."

Suddenly Pitch's vision went fuzzy, and his world tilted. Falling against the wall, Pitch slid down to the floor, his hands gripping his hair "This can't be happening, this can't be happening, this should NOT be happening!"

Sandy looked at the man who was currently a quivering, disbelieving heap on the floor, and realized for the first time how badly he had been broken, by all of them. Drifting over, the golden man placed a comforting hand on Pitch's shoulder, waiting until the Boogeyman looked up before speaking in his usual way.

"_It is happening Pitchiner,"_ he wrote _"and I'm so sorry we did not do this sooner."_

Heat stung the back of his eyes, and Pitch felt his throat begin to constrict. Covering his face with his hands, the Boogeyman breathed deeply repeatedly until those feelings left, before once again standing up and facing the Guardians.

"Well," he began, clearing his throat when his voice cracked "let's not waste the food by talking."

Bright smiles lit the faces of all the Guardians, and soon they were sitting around the table, each talking and laughing until the music began causing each of them to scurry over to the large couch set up near the railing. Pitch sat in a large armchair, his eyes taking in every detail as he watched the play unfold concerning a miserly old man who lived in self inflicted exile, eaten alive by his bitterness and hate. The boogeyman smiled, seeing the parallels between himself and Scrooge, each have lived a life full of loneliness, yearning for love and companionship, but too prideful to admit it. Soon Scrooge was being haunted by the ghost of his long departed business partner Marley, making Jack jump when the ghost appeared in Scrooge's bedchamber, shrieking and clattering his chains. Pitch caught the scent of fear, and raised an eyebrow at the boy. Jack merely gave him an embarrassed smile, and turned back to the show.

Marley began to tell Scrooge about how the past could wrap you in chains, but he could find freedom if he changed his ways now and made a clean slate for himself. The idea gave Pitch pause, could he do that as well? The Guardians were more than willing to accept him despite past differences, and wanted to move on, no longer living in hatred for one another, but could he forgive himself and accept the hand that has been outstretched to him, taking a hold of a new lease on life with family and friends? Soon Scrooge was flying high above London, being taken captive by his first ghost and thrown into the memories of his past, making Pitch wonder about his own past. Who was he, really? Jack had been born as a spirit without his memories, and he remembered that all Guardians were someone before they became who they were, so who was he? Was he a man of honor, or was he as evil as he was right now? The Boogeyman didn't know, and it made chew his bottom lip in careful thought, what kind of man was he in his mysterious past, and could it be possible that he could be a better man in his future?

The intermission came shortly after Scrooge sat weeping on the stage over the lost love, friends, and memories he had sacrificed for worldly gain, and the house lights came on leaving the audience blinking owlishly at their brightness.

"So frostbite," Bunny said with a playful cuff to Jack's head "ya feelin' sleepy? Cause there's a bet we made with ya in spring that hasn't been resolved yet."

"Oh no, kangaroo," Jack scoffed "it's the dead of winter, meaning I'm more hyperactive than a squirrel on crack, no way am I falling asleep this time!"

"Maaaybe," Pitch said slowly as a smirk quirked one side of his mouth "but this is merely the intermission, meaning the end is yet to be seen."

"I'm NOT. Falling. ASLEEP!" Jack said forcefully his blue eyes sparkling with mischief.

"Pride goeth before the fall," Pitch intoned sagely causing Bunny and Tooth to snicker.

"Yeah, and a fool who keeps his mouth shut is considered wise!" Jack shot back.

"Oh?" the dark specter snickered "So what does that make you?"

"THAT-" suddenly Jack realized his blunder and he face palmed with a loud slap.

Bunny melted into a round of laughter, his paws holding his quivering sides "He got ya there mate!" he guffawed.

"Boys," Tooth shook her head grievously "they never grow up, they only get bigger."

"_You know what they say,"_ Sandy chuckled silently _"the only difference between men and boys is the price of their toys."_

"I couldn't have said it better myself," the fairy giggled.

Soon the play once again continued, and the group sat in awe over the acting, and music, but the part that held Pitch's attention was the third ghost. It's dark billowing robe, and skeletal pointing finger, plus the way it showed Scrooge his future with unwavering honesty made Pitch feel his heart freeze in his chest. What was his future? Was he destined to find his future in a shallow grave all alone with no one to even grieve that he was gone? Standing up, the man walked away from his seat, and stood in the doorway leading down to the stairs, and Tooth quickly followed him.

"Pitch, is everything ok?" she asked softly.

"I…" Pitched paused unsure as to whether he should be honest with the fairy, but one look into her concerned lavender gaze urged his tongue forward "I'm not sure."

"What's wrong?" she pressed.

"Well…" Pitch took a deep breath then sighed, curse this female and her ability to draw the truth out of him "I wonder if that will be me, doomed to a life of loneliness and despair."

"Maybe it was a year ago," Tooth smiled gently one hand squeezing his arm comfortingly "but I don't think it is now. Besides, have you even been watching? This is about a man who turns his life around, and becomes better for it. At the very end, the narrator will talk about how no one even remembered him as the cranky, miserable man he used to be, but he died surrounded by friends and family. That can your future too, surrounded by people who care about you."

"D-Do you really think so?"

Tooth reeled back, her heart breaking at the sorrowful topaz eyes staring into her very soul, the smallest glimmer of hope flickering in their depths, like a candle about to go out without someone to protect it from the harsh winds. With a smile, the fairy cupped her hands around his face, and gently stroked his cheek with a thumb.

"I know so," she whispered.

"Tooth," Pitch whispered "there's something I want to say, but I don't know how you will take it."

"What is it?" The fairy murmured back softly.

"You…" Pitch opened his mouth, suddenly wanting to burst out and tell her she was the most wonderful creature to ever walk the Earth, and that he couldn't stop thinking about her for even a second for the past four months, but his mouth immediately dried and his breath caught in his throat almost making him choke. Changing his mind at the last minute, the Boogeyman gave a nervous chuckle "…You're standing under mistletoe."

"I am?" The fairy replied slyly "Well, you know the tradition, and I'm never one to break tradition."

"W-Wait…!" Pitch gasped his eyes going wide as he tried to backpedal away from her, but couldn't due to the fact that she still held his face firmly in her hands "Th-that's not what I meant-!"

All further protest was cut off when Tooth pressed her lips to his cheek, lingering longer than necessary at the contact before drawing away "Merry Christmas Pitch,"

As she rejoined the Guardians watching the play, Pitch stood hyperventilating in the corridor, feeling like all air had been sucked from his body. It was painful, but exhilarating, and the Boogeyman now sported a loopy grin the size of a continent across his face.

"I love Christmas…" he giggled deliriously.

"Pitch stop goofing off and hurry up!" Jack hissed "You're gonna miss the ending!"

"Coming!"

With secret smile and a slight blush, the Boogeyman took his first step into his new future, with the Guardians as his friends, allies, and even family, Pitch suddenly found his future not so lonely anymore. Sure they were bound to eventually have domestic squabbles concerning his job versus their job, but he was sure they would work it out, and Pitch was determined to make it work, because now that he had tasted the sweet nectar of family, he was officially a hopeless addict with no hope of rehabilitation.

**THE END.**

**How did you guys like Pitch's Passion?**

**Mystic, feel free to gush, squeal, and swoon in a helpless puddle heap, I am patiently waiting with a shovel and a wheelbarrow. **

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